AustralianSuper Pty Ltd Trims Stake in Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS)

AustralianSuper Pty Ltd decreased its holdings in shares of Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS - Free Report) by 19.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 884,526 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 208,842 shares during the quarter. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd owned about 0.35% of Discover Financial Services worth $153,226,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. State Street Corp grew its stake in shares of Discover Financial Services by 0.8% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 10,498,044 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,472,771,000 after buying an additional 80,601 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC grew its stake in shares of Discover Financial Services by 8.0% in the third 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 in the last quarter. C2P Capital Advisory Group LLC d.b.a. Prosperity Capital Advisors acquired a new stake in shares of Discover Financial Services in the fourth quarter valued at $351,766,000. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its stake in shares of Discover Financial Services by 0.7% in the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 1,834,705 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $257,391,000 after buying an additional 12,255 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Discover Financial Services by 0.5% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,728,276 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $242,460,000 after buying an additional 7,751 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.94% of the company's stock.

Discover Financial Services Stock Performance

DFS stock traded up $0.99 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $196.96. The company had a trading volume of 3,717,267 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,619,428. The firm has a market cap of $49.50 billion, a PE ratio of 12.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.63 and a beta of 1.46. Discover Financial Services has a 1-year low of $118.74 and a 1-year high of $205.76. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $185.09 and a 200-day moving average price of $161.40. 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 (NYSE:DFS - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results 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%. On average, analysts expect that Discover Financial Services will post 13.57 earnings per share for the current year.

Discover Financial Services Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 6th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 23rd will be given a dividend of $0.70 per share. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.42%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 23rd. Discover Financial Services's payout ratio is 17.54%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective 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. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on Discover Financial Services from $170.00 to $232.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on Discover Financial Services from $193.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Truist Financial boosted their target price on Discover Financial Services from $233.00 to $262.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Discover Financial Services from $185.00 to $214.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $186.46.

Discover Financial Services Company 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.