Mufg Securities Americas Inc. Takes $642,000 Position in Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS)

Mufg Securities Americas Inc. acquired a new stake in Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 3,707 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $642,000.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 290,937 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC grew its holdings in shares of Discover Financial Services by 0.8% in the fourth 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 grew its holdings in shares of Discover Financial Services by 2.7% in the fourth 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 during the 4th quarter worth $724,720,000. Finally, Invesco Ltd. grew its stake in Discover Financial Services by 38.5% during the 4th 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 institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently commented on DFS shares. Truist Financial boosted their target price on Discover Financial Services from $219.00 to $229.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Discover Financial Services from $185.00 to $214.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. TD Securities lowered their price target on shares of Discover Financial Services from $188.00 to $184.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Argus upgraded shares of Discover Financial Services to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, April 25th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target 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. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $191.64.

Discover Financial Services Trading Down 2.2%

Shares of Discover Financial Services stock opened at $199.67 on Thursday. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $170.61 and a 200-day simple moving average of $177.63. Discover Financial Services has a 12-month low of $119.95 and a 12-month high of $207.42. The company has a current ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09. The stock has a market cap of $50.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.51, a PEG ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 1.16.

Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The financial services provider reported $4.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.33 by $0.92. Discover Financial Services had a net margin of 17.29% and a return on equity of 26.18%. The business had revenue of $4.25 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.25 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.10 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Discover Financial Services will post 13.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.