Essex Savings Bank Invests $157,000 in KeyCorp (NYSE:KEY)

Essex Savings Bank purchased a new position in shares of KeyCorp (NYSE:KEY) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 10,875 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $157,000.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Fifth Third Bancorp raised its holdings in KeyCorp by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 237,934 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,426,000 after acquiring an additional 2,344 shares in the last quarter. Washington Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in KeyCorp by 162.1% in the fourth quarter. Washington Capital Management Inc. now owns 88,705 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,277,000 after acquiring an additional 54,855 shares in the last quarter. Future Financial Wealth Managment LLC acquired a new stake in KeyCorp in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $166,000. Global Retirement Partners LLC raised its holdings in KeyCorp by 15.8% in the fourth quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 6,592 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $92,000 after acquiring an additional 901 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. raised its holdings in KeyCorp by 20.1% in the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 12,030 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $173,000 after acquiring an additional 2,016 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.69% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently weighed in on KEY shares. Raymond James started coverage on shares of KeyCorp in a report on Monday, January 8th. They issued a “market perform” rating on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on shares of KeyCorp from $13.00 to $15.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 19th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of KeyCorp from $12.00 to $16.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 7th. Evercore ISI increased their price target on shares of KeyCorp from $17.00 to $18.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 28th. Finally, Wedbush dropped their price target on shares of KeyCorp from $16.00 to $14.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 19th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $15.00.

KeyCorp Stock Performance

NYSE:KEY opened at $15.26 on Wednesday. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $14.55 and its 200 day moving average price is $13.02. KeyCorp has a 1-year low of $8.53 and a 1-year high of $15.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.61, a current ratio of 0.86 and a quick ratio of 0.86. The firm has a market cap of $14.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.15 and a beta of 1.29.

KeyCorp (NYSE:KEY) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 18th. The financial services provider reported $0.25 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.23 by $0.02. KeyCorp had a net margin of 8.61% and a return on equity of 10.63%. The firm had revenue of $1.53 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.53 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.38 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that KeyCorp will post 1.18 EPS for the current year.

KeyCorp Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 27th were issued a $0.205 dividend. This represents a $0.82 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.37%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 26th. KeyCorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 92.13%.

Insider Buying and Selling at KeyCorp

In other KeyCorp news, insider Kenneth C. Gavrity sold 2,376 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $14.03, for a total value of $33,335.28. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 98,120 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,376,623.60. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other KeyCorp news, insider Kenneth C. Gavrity sold 2,376 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $14.03, for a total value of $33,335.28. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 98,120 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,376,623.60. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Angela G. Mago sold 3,405 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $14.24, for a total value of $48,487.20. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 214,630 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,056,331.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 21,442 shares of company stock valued at $303,914. 0.67% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

About KeyCorp

KeyCorp operates as the holding company for KeyBank National Association that provides various retail and commercial banking products and services in the United States. It operates in two segments, Consumer Bank and Commercial Bank. The company offers various deposits, investment products and services; commercial leasing, investment management, consumer finance; and personal finance and financial wellness, student loan refinancing, mortgage and home equity, lending, credit card, treasury, business advisory, wealth management, asset management, cash management, portfolio management, and trust and related services to individuals and small and medium-sized businesses.