161,126 Shares in Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) Acquired by KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS

KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS purchased a new position in shares of Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 161,126 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $27,912,000. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS owned about 0.06% of Discover Financial Services at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. C2P Capital Advisory Group LLC d.b.a. Prosperity Capital Advisors purchased a new position in shares of Discover Financial Services during the 4th quarter worth $351,766,000. FMR LLC boosted its stake in Discover Financial Services by 8.0% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 7,493,862 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,051,314,000 after buying an additional 558,227 shares during the period. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Discover Financial Services in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $39,067,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Discover Financial Services in the 4th quarter worth approximately $38,489,000. Finally, Proficio Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Discover Financial Services during the fourth quarter worth $36,219,000. 86.94% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently commented on DFS. Truist Financial lowered their price objective 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. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Discover Financial Services from $186.00 to $209.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. UBS Group upgraded Discover Financial Services from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $150.00 to $239.00 in a research report on Monday, January 13th. StockNews.com cut Discover Financial Services from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on Discover Financial Services from $193.00 to $210.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $192.40.

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Discover Financial Services Price Performance

NYSE DFS traded down $3.23 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $162.91. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,448,044 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,419,347. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a current ratio of 1.09. The stock has a market cap of $40.99 billion, a PE ratio of 10.21, a PEG ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 1.45. The company's 50-day moving average is $185.41 and its two-hundred day moving average is $169.63. Discover Financial Services has a fifty-two week low of $119.31 and a fifty-two week high of $205.76.

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

Discover Financial Services Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 6th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 23rd will be given a $0.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 23rd. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.72%. Discover Financial Services's dividend 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.