Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) Shares Sold by Handelsbanken Fonder AB

Handelsbanken Fonder AB lessened its holdings in shares of Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) by 33.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 64,211 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 32,955 shares during the quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB’s holdings in Discover Financial Services were worth $7,217,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of DFS. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC acquired a new stake in Discover Financial Services during the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. increased its position in Discover Financial Services by 282.0% during the 3rd quarter. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. now owns 382 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 282 shares in the last quarter. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Discover Financial Services during the 4th quarter worth approximately $35,000. First Command Advisory Services Inc. acquired a new stake in Discover Financial Services during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $39,000. Finally, Larson Financial Group LLC increased its position in Discover Financial Services by 105.8% during the 3rd quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 465 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 239 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.94% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO John Greene sold 35,191 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $106.51, for a total transaction of $3,748,193.41. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 18,592 shares in the company, valued at $1,980,233.92. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.69% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Morgan Stanley raised shares of Discover Financial Services from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $105.00 to $133.00 in a research report on Thursday, February 8th. Piper Sandler increased their price objective on shares of Discover Financial Services from $127.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 23rd. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on shares of Discover Financial Services from $117.00 to $140.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 22nd. HSBC increased their price objective on shares of Discover Financial Services from $107.00 to $144.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 21st. Finally, Wolfe Research reaffirmed a “peer perform” rating on shares of Discover Financial Services in a research report on Wednesday, February 21st. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $126.29.

Discover Financial Services Stock Down 0.2 %

DFS stock opened at $129.02 on Thursday. Discover Financial Services has a twelve month low of $79.04 and a twelve month high of $131.65. The company has a current ratio of 1.05, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.49. The company has a market capitalization of $32.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.71, a PEG ratio of 0.78 and a beta of 1.45. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $123.16 and a 200-day simple moving average of $106.88.

Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 18th. The financial services provider reported $1.10 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.98 by ($1.88). Discover Financial Services had a return on equity of 16.74% and a net margin of 10.56%. The company had revenue of $4.21 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.07 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $3.58 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Discover Financial Services will post 11.39 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Discover Financial Services Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 6th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 23rd will be paid a dividend of $0.70 per share. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.17%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 22nd. Discover Financial Services’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 31.93%.

About Discover Financial Services

Discover Financial Services, through its subsidiaries, provides digital banking products and services, and payment services in the United States. It operates in two segments, Digital Banking and Payment Services. The Digital Banking segment offers Discover-branded credit cards to individuals; private student loans, personal loans, home loans, and other consumer lending; and direct-to-consumer deposit products comprising savings accounts, certificates of deposit, money market accounts, IRA certificates of deposit, IRA savings accounts and checking accounts, and sweep accounts.