Meritage Group LP Purchases New Stake in Capital One Financial Co. (NYSE:COF)

Meritage Group LP purchased a new position in shares of Capital One Financial Co. (NYSE:COF - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 1,276,707 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $227,662,000. Capital One Financial comprises 5.4% of Meritage Group LP's holdings, making the stock its 7th biggest holding. Meritage Group LP owned approximately 0.33% of Capital One Financial at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Capital One Financial by 4.3% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 430,654 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $64,482,000 after purchasing an additional 17,825 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd lifted its holdings in shares of Capital One Financial by 4.5% during the fourth quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd now owns 46,174 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $8,234,000 after buying an additional 2,006 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Capital One Financial by 2.6% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 8,227,587 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,467,393,000 after acquiring an additional 207,427 shares during the period. Artemis Investment Management LLP bought a new position in Capital One Financial during the fourth quarter worth about $46,915,000. Finally, Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank raised its stake in Capital One Financial by 9.6% in the 4th quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 250,696 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $44,704,000 after purchasing an additional 22,063 shares in the last quarter. 89.84% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on COF. Barclays increased their price target on Capital One Financial from $219.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Capital One Financial from $210.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday. Citigroup dropped their target price on shares of Capital One Financial from $245.00 to $230.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, March 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on Capital One Financial from $198.00 to $170.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Finally, Argus upgraded Capital One Financial to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Capital One Financial has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $207.73.

Capital One Financial Stock Down 0.8 %

COF stock traded down $1.53 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $183.52. 2,014,781 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,137,886. The company has a quick ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $176.16 and its 200-day moving average price is $180.09. The company has a market cap of $70.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.82, a P/E/G ratio of 1.19 and a beta of 1.24. Capital One Financial Co. has a 52 week low of $128.23 and a 52 week high of $210.67.

Capital One Financial (NYSE:COF - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 22nd. The financial services provider reported $4.06 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.75 by $0.31. The firm had revenue of $10 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.07 billion. Capital One Financial had a return on equity of 9.45% and a net margin of 9.46%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Capital One Financial Co. 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 3rd. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 18th were issued a dividend of $0.60 per share. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.31%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 18th. Capital One Financial's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 20.15%.

Capital One Financial Company Profile

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.