Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) Stock Holdings Lowered by Capital International Investors

Capital International Investors cut its position in Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) by 5.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,785,443 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 93,233 shares during the quarter. Capital International Investors owned about 0.71% of Discover Financial Services worth $309,292,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of Discover Financial Services during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Flagship Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Discover Financial Services during the 4th quarter valued at $34,000. Grove Bank & Trust boosted its position in Discover Financial Services by 78.1% during the 4th quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 203 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 89 shares during the period. Bfsg LLC bought a new position in shares of Discover Financial Services in the fourth quarter worth $35,000. Finally, Hantz Financial Services Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Discover Financial Services during the fourth quarter valued at $37,000. 86.94% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on DFS shares. Royal Bank of Canada upped 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 report on Friday, January 24th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Discover Financial Services from $185.00 to $214.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on shares of Discover Financial Services from $169.00 to $129.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Truist Financial cut their target price on Discover Financial Services from $262.00 to $219.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, March 21st. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Discover Financial Services from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $188.40.

Discover Financial Services Stock Up 2.3 %

Shares of Discover Financial Services stock opened at $159.91 on Friday. Discover Financial Services has a 12-month low of $119.95 and a 12-month high of $205.76. The firm has a market capitalization of $40.23 billion, a PE ratio of 10.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 1.20. The company has a quick ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $171.42 and its 200-day moving average is $172.34.

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

Discover Financial Services Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 6th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 23rd will be given a dividend of $0.70 per share. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.75%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 23rd. Discover Financial Services’s payout ratio is 17.54%.

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; 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.