Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. Takes Position in Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS)

Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 75,285 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $13,057,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in Discover Financial Services by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 31,045,208 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $5,377,961,000 after acquiring an additional 290,937 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Discover Financial Services by 2.7% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 6,240,451 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,082,826,000 after purchasing an additional 165,589 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Discover Financial Services during the fourth quarter worth $724,720,000. C2P Capital Advisory Group LLC d.b.a. Prosperity Capital Advisors acquired a new position in Discover Financial Services in the 4th quarter valued at $351,766,000. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in Discover Financial Services by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,738,804 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $301,213,000 after buying an additional 10,528 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.94% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. UBS Group raised shares of Discover Financial Services from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $150.00 to $239.00 in a report on Monday, January 13th. 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 report on Friday, January 24th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on Discover Financial Services from $170.00 to $232.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Discover Financial Services from $146.00 to $169.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on 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. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Discover Financial Services currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $192.40.

Discover Financial Services Trading Down 9.0 %

Shares of DFS stock opened at $146.77 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $36.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.20, a P/E/G 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. Discover Financial Services has a fifty-two week low of $119.31 and a fifty-two week high of $205.76. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $181.35 and a 200-day simple moving average of $171.43.

Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The financial services provider reported $5.11 earnings per share 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%. On average, analysts forecast that Discover Financial Services will post 13.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Discover Financial Services Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.91%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 23rd. Discover Financial Services’s payout ratio is currently 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.