Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) Shares Purchased by Vanguard Group Inc.

Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) by 0.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 31,045,208 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 290,937 shares during the quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. owned 12.35% of Discover Financial Services worth $5,377,961,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Hemington Wealth Management grew its position in Discover Financial Services by 11.0% in the fourth quarter. Hemington Wealth Management now owns 503 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $87,000 after buying an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. grew its position in Discover Financial Services by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 9,248 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,602,000 after buying an additional 56 shares during the last quarter. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. grew its position in Discover Financial Services by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. now owns 6,158 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,067,000 after buying an additional 57 shares during the last quarter. Invst LLC grew its position in Discover Financial Services by 0.9% during the 3rd quarter. Invst LLC now owns 7,253 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,018,000 after purchasing an additional 62 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CTC Alternative Strategies Ltd. grew its position in Discover Financial Services by 3.2% during the 3rd quarter. CTC Alternative Strategies Ltd. now owns 2,047 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $287,000 after purchasing an additional 63 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.94% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have weighed in on DFS. Truist Financial lowered their price objective on shares of Discover Financial Services from $262.00 to $219.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on shares of Discover Financial Services from $193.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Discover Financial Services from $185.00 to $214.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Discover Financial Services from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on shares of Discover Financial Services from $170.00 to $232.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Discover Financial Services currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $192.40.

Discover Financial Services Stock Up 0.3 %

DFS stock opened at $164.90 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09. Discover Financial Services has a 1 year low of $119.31 and a 1 year high of $205.76. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $186.18 and a 200 day simple moving average of $169.10. The firm has a market cap of $41.49 billion, a PE ratio of 10.33, a PEG ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 1.45.

Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 22nd. The financial services provider reported $5.11 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.13 by $1.98. Discover Financial Services had a net margin of 17.29% and a return on equity of 26.18%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Discover Financial Services will post 13.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Discover Financial Services Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 6th. Investors of record on Friday, May 23rd will be paid a $0.70 dividend. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.70%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 23rd. Discover Financial Services’s payout ratio is presently 17.54%.

Discover Financial Services Profile

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; 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.