Richard Bernstein Advisors LLC Lowers Stock Position in Capital One Financial Corporation $COF

Key Points

• Richard Bernstein Advisors LLC cut its stake in Capital One by 57.2% in Q3, selling 8,680 shares and leaving 6,488 shares worth $1.379 million.
• Large institutions largely added to positions—Vanguard, State Street, Geode and Capital Research increased holdings and Norges Bank opened a new ~ $1.7 billion position—leaving institutional ownership at about 89.8%.
• Analysts maintain a consensus "Moderate Buy" with a $274.70 target; Capital One recently missed EPS ($3.86 vs. $4.14), trades below its 52‑week high, and pays a 1.7% yield with a payout ratio above 100%.

Richard Bernstein Advisors LLC decreased its holdings in shares of Capital One Financial Corporation (NYSE:COF) by 57.2% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 6,488 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 8,680 shares during the period. Richard Bernstein Advisors LLC's holdings in Capital One Financial were worth $1,379,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of COF. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Capital One Financial by 0.3% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 56,537,167 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $12,018,671,000 after buying an additional 156,254 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its stake in Capital One Financial by 63.4% in the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 27,780,128 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $5,910,500,000 after purchasing an additional 10,776,843 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Capital One Financial by 64.1% during the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 14,008,841 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $2,970,628,000 after buying an additional 5,474,328 shares during the period. Capital Research Global Investors lifted its stake in shares of Capital One Financial by 3.7% during the 3rd quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 8,426,060 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,791,264,000 after purchasing an additional 302,733 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new position in Capital One Financial during the second quarter worth about $1,701,511,000. 89.84% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on shares of Capital One Financial from $265.00 to $275.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, December 10th. Citigroup raised their target price on Capital One Financial from $290.00 to $310.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 31st. Wolfe Research cut their price target on Capital One Financial from $294.00 to $280.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 23rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on Capital One Financial from $260.00 to $290.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, January 2nd. Finally, Truist Financial lowered their price objective on Capital One Financial from $290.00 to $275.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 26th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have given a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $274.70.

Capital One Financial Stock Performance

Shares of Capital One Financial stock opened at $184.93 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a current ratio of 1.04. Capital One Financial Corporation has a 1 year low of $143.22 and a 1 year high of $259.64. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $219.49 and its 200-day simple moving average is $221.76. The firm has a market cap of $115.01 billion, a PE ratio of 62.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.56 and a beta of 1.14.

Capital One Financial (NYSE:COF - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 22nd. The financial services provider reported $3.86 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $4.14 by ($0.28). Capital One Financial had a return on equity of 10.68% and a net margin of 3.54%.During the same period last year, the company earned $2.67 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 53.3% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that Capital One Financial Corporation will post 15.65 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Capital One Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 2nd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 19th were issued a $0.80 dividend. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.7%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 19th. Capital One Financial's payout ratio is 108.11%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Capital One Financial

In related news, insider Neal Blinde sold 38,135 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $190.51, for a total transaction of $7,265,098.85. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 33,551 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $6,391,801.01. This represents a 53.20% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, General Counsel Matthew W. Cooper sold 2,000 shares of Capital One Financial stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $250.00, for a total transaction of $500,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the general counsel directly owned 92,486 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $23,121,500. This represents a 2.12% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 67,933 shares of company stock worth $14,363,897. 1.26% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Capital One Financial Company Profile

Capital One Financial Corporation NYSE: COF is a diversified bank holding company headquartered in McLean, Virginia. The company's core businesses include credit card lending, consumer and commercial banking, and auto finance. Capital One issues a wide range of credit card products for consumers and small businesses, and it operates deposit and digital banking services aimed at retail customers and small to midsize enterprises.

Products and services include credit and charge cards, checking and savings accounts (including the online-focused Capital One 360 platform), auto loans, and commercial lending solutions.

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