Merit Financial Group LLC Invests $256,000 in BOK Financial Co. (NASDAQ:BOKF)

Merit Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in BOK Financial Co. (NASDAQ:BOKF) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 2,407 shares of the bank’s stock, valued at approximately $256,000.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of BOKF. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. grew its position in shares of BOK Financial by 28.0% in the third quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 223,745 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $23,408,000 after purchasing an additional 48,942 shares during the last quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. grew its holdings in BOK Financial by 55.6% in the 3rd quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 136,833 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $14,315,000 after buying an additional 48,874 shares in the last quarter. Jane Street Group LLC increased its position in BOK Financial by 309.8% during the 3rd quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 44,561 shares of the bank’s stock worth $4,662,000 after buying an additional 33,686 shares during the period. Quest Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of BOK Financial in the third quarter valued at about $1,923,000. Finally, Sei Investments Co. grew its stake in shares of BOK Financial by 304.9% in the second quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 20,602 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,888,000 after acquiring an additional 15,514 shares in the last quarter. 34.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have weighed in on the stock. StockNews.com upgraded shares of BOK Financial from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on BOK Financial from $105.00 to $112.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 3rd. DA Davidson dropped their price objective on BOK Financial from $124.00 to $123.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on BOK Financial from $115.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on BOK Financial from $112.00 to $125.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $116.40.

BOK Financial Stock Down 0.6 %

Shares of NASDAQ:BOKF opened at $109.91 on Friday. BOK Financial Co. has a 52-week low of $78.99 and a 52-week high of $121.58. The company has a market capitalization of $7.05 billion, a PE ratio of 13.52 and a beta of 1.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a current ratio of 0.79. The company has a fifty day moving average of $112.82 and a 200-day moving average of $107.36.

BOK Financial (NASDAQ:BOKF) last posted its earnings results on Friday, January 17th. The bank reported $2.12 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.97 by $0.15. BOK Financial had a net margin of 15.32% and a return on equity of 9.96%. On average, equities analysts predict that BOK Financial Co. will post 8.52 EPS for the current fiscal year.

BOK Financial Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 15th were issued a dividend of $0.57 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 15th. This is an increase from BOK Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.07%. BOK Financial’s payout ratio is presently 28.04%.

Insider Buying and Selling at BOK Financial

In related news, Director Steven Bangert sold 2,000 shares of BOK Financial stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $117.83, for a total value of $235,660.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 44,709 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,268,061.47. The trade was a 4.28 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 56.94% of the company’s stock.

BOK Financial Company Profile

BOK Financial Corporation operates as the financial holding company for BOKF, NA that provides various financial products and services in Oklahoma, Texas, New Mexico, Northwest Arkansas, Colorado, Arizona, and Kansas/Missouri. It operates through three segments: Commercial Banking, Consumer Banking, and Wealth Management.