SlateStone Wealth LLC Sells 5,200 Shares of KeyCorp (NYSE:KEY)

SlateStone Wealth LLC trimmed its holdings in KeyCorp (NYSE:KEY) by 4.4% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 111,924 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 5,200 shares during the quarter. SlateStone Wealth LLC’s holdings in KeyCorp were worth $1,918,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Ethos Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of KeyCorp in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Larson Financial Group LLC raised its stake in shares of KeyCorp by 90.8% in the third quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 1,929 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 918 shares in the last quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of KeyCorp in the fourth quarter valued at $34,000. Venturi Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of KeyCorp by 62.9% in the third quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,526 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 975 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Whipplewood Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of KeyCorp in the fourth quarter valued at $45,000. 79.69% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently commented on the company. Barclays upped their target price on KeyCorp from $19.00 to $21.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $18.00 price objective on shares of KeyCorp in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Citigroup upgraded KeyCorp from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $20.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on KeyCorp from $22.00 to $20.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their target price on KeyCorp from $22.00 to $21.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $19.64.

KeyCorp Price Performance

Shares of KEY opened at $15.68 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77. KeyCorp has a 1 year low of $13.11 and a 1 year high of $20.04. The stock has a market cap of $17.32 billion, a P/E ratio of -52.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.65 and a beta of 1.26. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $17.19 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $17.43.

KeyCorp Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 4th were issued a dividend of $0.205 per share. This represents a $0.82 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.23%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 4th. KeyCorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -273.33%.

KeyCorp announced that its board has approved a share buyback program on Thursday, March 13th that allows the company to buyback $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the financial services provider to reacquire up to 6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other KeyCorp news, Director Of Nova Scotia Bank purchased 50,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 5th. The shares were bought at an average price of $17.85 per share, with a total value of $892,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 162,983,726 shares in the company, valued at $2,909,259,509.10. This trade represents a 0.03 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.61% of the company’s stock.

KeyCorp Profile

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.