Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) Shares Bought by MML Investors Services LLC

MML Investors Services LLC lifted its position in shares of Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) by 0.2% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 221,162 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 495 shares during the period. MML Investors Services LLC’s holdings in Discover Financial Services were worth $38,312,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in Discover Financial Services by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 31,045,208 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $5,377,961,000 after buying an additional 290,937 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC increased its stake in shares of Discover Financial Services by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 7,553,016 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,308,409,000 after purchasing an additional 59,154 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Discover Financial Services by 2.7% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 6,240,451 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,082,826,000 after purchasing an additional 165,589 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Discover Financial Services in the 4th quarter worth about $724,720,000. Finally, Invesco Ltd. boosted its position in Discover Financial Services by 38.5% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,974,471 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $515,268,000 after purchasing an additional 826,287 shares in the last quarter. 86.94% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Discover Financial Services Trading Up 2.3 %

Shares of DFS stock opened at $159.91 on Monday. Discover Financial Services has a fifty-two week low of $119.95 and a fifty-two week high of $205.76. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $171.42 and a 200 day moving average price of $172.84. The stock has a market capitalization of $40.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 1.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a current ratio of 1.09.

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

Discover Financial Services Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 6th. Investors of record on Friday, May 23rd will be issued a $0.70 dividend. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.75%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 23rd. Discover Financial Services’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 17.54%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on Discover Financial Services from $193.00 to $210.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Discover Financial Services from $186.00 to $209.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on shares of Discover Financial Services from $169.00 to $129.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Discover Financial Services from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. Finally, UBS Group upgraded Discover Financial Services from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $150.00 to $239.00 in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $188.40.

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.