Capital One Financial Corporation $COF Stake Boosted by Perpetual Ltd

Key Points

• Perpetual Ltd increased its Capital One stake by 144.1% in the third quarter, while institutional investors overall own 89.84% of the company.
• Analysts maintain a generally positive outlook, with 20 Buy ratings and five Holds; the average price target is $255.04, despite several recent target reductions.
• Capital One reported quarterly EPS of $5.81, beating estimates of $4.79, while revenue rose 26.9% year over year; the company also pays a quarterly dividend of $0.80, yielding 1.6%.

Perpetual Ltd raised its holdings in Capital One Financial Corporation (NYSE:COF) by 144.1% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 13,670 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 8,070 shares during the period. Perpetual Ltd's holdings in Capital One Financial were worth $2,639,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of COF. State Street Corp raised its stake in Capital One Financial by 107.9% in the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 57,278,732 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $11,491,259,000 after purchasing an additional 29,724,829 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE purchased a new position in Capital One Financial in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $1,435,311,000. Legal & General Group Plc purchased a new position in Capital One Financial in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $680,983,000. Berkshire Hathaway Inc bought a new position in shares of Capital One Financial in the 2nd quarter worth $601,860,000. Finally, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board bought a new position in shares of Capital One Financial in the 2nd quarter worth $482,718,000. Institutional investors own 89.84% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on COF shares. Citigroup dropped their price objective on shares of Capital One Financial from $295.00 to $280.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, September 29th. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on Capital One Financial from $273.00 to $267.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday. Bank of America lowered their price target on Capital One Financial from $234.00 to $231.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. Barclays dropped their price target on Capital One Financial from $240.00 to $237.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, October 5th. Finally, BTIG Research lifted their price target on Capital One Financial from $224.00 to $259.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 30th. Twenty equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $255.04.

Capital One Financial Stock Down 1.6%

Shares of NYSE:COF opened at $197.96 on Wednesday. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $209.35 and its 200-day moving average price is $199.97. Capital One Financial Corporation has a 12-month low of $174.24 and a 12-month high of $259.64. The stock has a market capitalization of $121.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.74 and a beta of 1.04. The company has a current ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39.

Capital One Financial (NYSE:COF - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, July 21st. The financial services provider reported $5.81 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $4.79 by $1.02. Capital One Financial had a return on equity of 11.28% and a net margin of 13.37%. The company had revenue of $15.83 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.76 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $5.48 EPS. Capital One Financial's revenue for the quarter was up 26.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Capital One Financial Corporation will post 20.34 earnings per share for the current year.

Capital One Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 17th were given a $0.80 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 17th. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.6%. Capital One Financial's payout ratio is presently 19.80%.

Insider Transactions at Capital One Financial

In other news, insider Lia Dean sold 2,066 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $206.07, for a total transaction of $425,740.62. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 61,195 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $12,610,453.65. This represents a 3.27% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Ravi Raghu sold 9,726 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $209.78, for a total transaction of $2,040,320.28. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 26,328 shares in the company, valued at $5,523,087.84. This represents a 26.98% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 33,850 shares of company stock valued at $7,167,152. Insiders own 0.78% of the company's stock.

About Capital One Financial

Capital One Financial Corp. is a diversified financial services company headquartered in McLean, Virginia. Founded in 1994, the company provides credit cards, consumer banking products, auto financing and commercial banking services through its Capital One brand.

Capital One offers credit cards for consumers and businesses, checking and savings accounts, certificates of deposit, personal loans and auto loans. Its commercial banking operations serve businesses, institutions and commercial real estate clients with lending, deposit, treasury management and other financial services.

Capital One primarily serves customers in the United States, with additional operations in Canada and the United Kingdom.

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