Associated Banc Corp Sells 8,487 Shares of Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS)

Associated Banc Corp trimmed its position in Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS - Free Report) by 3.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 233,552 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 8,487 shares during the quarter. Discover Financial Services makes up 1.2% of Associated Banc Corp's holdings, making the stock its 17th largest position. Associated Banc Corp owned about 0.09% of Discover Financial Services worth $40,458,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. 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 about $351,766,000. FMR LLC grew its stake in Discover Financial Services by 8.0% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 7,493,862 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,051,314,000 after buying an additional 558,227 shares during the last quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC grew its stake in Discover Financial Services by 1,272.0% in the 3rd quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 265,155 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $37,199,000 after buying an additional 245,829 shares during the last quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC acquired a new position in Discover Financial Services in the 4th quarter valued at about $39,067,000. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in Discover Financial Services in the 4th quarter valued at about $38,489,000. 86.94% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently commented on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Discover Financial Services from $185.00 to $214.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. UBS Group upgraded shares of Discover Financial Services from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their target price for the stock from $150.00 to $239.00 in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Discover Financial Services from $186.00 to $209.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Truist Financial increased their target price on shares of Discover Financial Services from $233.00 to $262.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on shares of 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. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $191.91.

Discover Financial Services Price Performance

Shares of NYSE DFS traded up $3.22 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $162.05. 2,431,962 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,405,919. 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 company has a market cap of $40.77 billion, a PE ratio of 10.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 1.45. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $186.78 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $168.54. Discover Financial Services has a 1-year low of $119.31 and a 1-year 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 EPS 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, sell-side analysts predict 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. Investors of record on Friday, May 23rd will be paid a $0.70 dividend. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.73%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend 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.