Merit Financial Group LLC Boosts Holdings in Capital One Financial Co. (NYSE:COF)

Merit Financial Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of Capital One Financial Co. (NYSE:COF) by 39.2% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 3,935 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,109 shares during the period. Merit Financial Group LLC’s holdings in Capital One Financial were worth $702,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. Decker Retirement Planning Inc. purchased a new position in Capital One Financial during the fourth quarter worth approximately $32,000. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Capital One Financial during the 3rd quarter worth $36,000. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV raised its position in shares of Capital One Financial by 135.0% in the 3rd quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV now owns 289 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $43,000 after buying an additional 166 shares during the period. Eastern Bank acquired a new position in Capital One Financial in the third quarter valued at $44,000. Finally, Prospera Private Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in Capital One Financial during the third quarter valued at about $47,000. 89.84% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Capital One Financial Stock Up 4.1 %

Shares of NYSE:COF opened at $201.21 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $76.71 billion, a PE ratio of 19.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.23 and a beta of 1.46. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $183.98 and a 200 day simple moving average of $161.38. The company has a current ratio of 1.00, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78. Capital One Financial Co. has a 12-month low of $128.23 and a 12-month high of $202.15.

Capital One Financial (NYSE:COF) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, January 21st. The financial services provider reported $3.09 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.78 by $0.31. The company had revenue of $10.19 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10,220,675.12 billion. Capital One Financial had a net margin of 8.80% and a return on equity of 9.00%. The company’s revenue was up 7.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.81 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Capital One Financial Co. will post 13.53 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Capital One Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 22nd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 14th were given a $0.60 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, November 14th. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.19%. Capital One Financial’s payout ratio is 22.66%.

Insider Activity

In other Capital One Financial news, insider Michael Zamsky sold 10,541 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $190.26, for a total value of $2,005,530.66. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 26,482 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,038,465.32. This trade represents a 28.47 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Kara West sold 721 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $184.73, for a total value of $133,190.33. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 12,929 shares in the company, valued at $2,388,374.17. The trade was a 5.28 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 13,256 shares of company stock worth $2,462,487. 1.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently commented on COF. Hsbc Global Res upgraded Capital One Financial from a “moderate sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on shares of Capital One Financial from $145.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Bank of America lowered shares of Capital One Financial from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $203.00 to $200.00 in a research report on Monday, December 9th. HSBC raised shares of Capital One Financial from a “reduce” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $176.00 price target for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on Capital One Financial from $190.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Capital One Financial has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $190.47.

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.