Merit Financial Group LLC Raises Stake in Capital One Financial Corporation $COF

Key Points

• Merit Financial Group LLC increased its stake in Capital One Financial by 243.4% in Q2, owning 21,093 shares worth $4,488,000.
• Analysts have raised their target prices for Capital One Financial, with most giving it a rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $249.44.
• Capital One Financial recently paid a quarterly dividend of $0.60, resulting in an annualized yield of 1.1%, despite a high dividend payout ratio of 123.08%.

Merit Financial Group LLC boosted its position in shares of Capital One Financial Corporation (NYSE:COF - Free Report) by 243.4% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 21,093 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 14,951 shares during the period. Merit Financial Group LLC's holdings in Capital One Financial were worth $4,488,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its holdings in Capital One Financial by 330.1% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 13,587 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,423,000 after buying an additional 10,428 shares during the last quarter. NBC Securities Inc. purchased a new stake in Capital One Financial during the first quarter worth approximately $142,000. Sivia Capital Partners LLC acquired a new position in Capital One Financial in the first quarter valued at approximately $271,000. Wedmont Private Capital increased its stake in Capital One Financial by 1.8% in the first quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 5,870 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,052,000 after purchasing an additional 105 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Capital Investment Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Capital One Financial by 126.6% during the first quarter. Capital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 4,174 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $748,000 after purchasing an additional 2,332 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.84% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on COF. Robert W. Baird upped their target price on shares of Capital One Financial from $240.00 to $245.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, October 2nd. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Capital One Financial from $261.00 to $267.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, September 29th. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on Capital One Financial from $240.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, September 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Capital One Financial from $245.00 to $248.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Finally, TD Cowen raised their price target on Capital One Financial from $258.00 to $261.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have given a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $249.44.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Michael Zamsky sold 5,515 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $209.59, for a total transaction of $1,155,888.85. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 27,364 shares in the company, valued at $5,735,220.76. The trade was a 16.77% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, General Counsel Matthew W. Cooper sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $211.99, for a total transaction of $423,980.00. Following the transaction, the general counsel directly owned 98,486 shares of the company's stock, valued at $20,878,047.14. This represents a 1.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 23,298 shares of company stock valued at $5,103,824. 1.26% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Capital One Financial Stock Performance

Shares of COF stock opened at $213.78 on Tuesday. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $219.29 and its 200 day moving average price is $201.62. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47. The stock has a market capitalization of $136.72 billion, a PE ratio of 109.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.79 and a beta of 1.18. Capital One Financial Corporation has a 52-week low of $143.22 and a 52-week high of $232.45.

Capital One Financial (NYSE:COF - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 22nd. The financial services provider reported $5.48 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.93 by $3.55. The company had revenue of $12.49 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $12.72 billion. The firm's revenue was up 31.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $3.14 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Capital One Financial Corporation will post 15.65 EPS for the current year.

Capital One Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, August 15th were given a $0.60 dividend. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 15th. Capital One Financial's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 123.08%.

About Capital One Financial

Capital One Financial Corporation operates as the financial services holding company for the Capital One, National Association, which engages in the provision of various financial products and services in the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom. It operates through three segments: Credit Card, Consumer Banking, and Commercial Banking.

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