Dimensional Fund Advisors LP Sells 412,185 Shares of Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS)

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lowered its stake in shares of Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS - Free Report) by 11.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 3,156,649 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 412,185 shares during the quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP owned approximately 1.26% of Discover Financial Services worth $546,821,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Discover Financial Services during the 4th quarter valued at $33,000. Flagship Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Discover Financial Services in the fourth quarter worth about $34,000. Bfsg LLC bought a new stake in shares of Discover Financial Services in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Grove Bank & Trust boosted its holdings in Discover Financial Services by 78.1% in the 4th quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 203 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 89 shares during the period. Finally, Hantz Financial Services Inc. purchased a new position in Discover Financial Services in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $37,000. 86.94% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Discover Financial Services Trading Up 4.6 %

Discover Financial Services stock traded up $8.28 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $186.97. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,972,114 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,602,282. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $170.27 and a 200-day moving average price of $173.02. Discover Financial Services has a 12 month low of $119.95 and a 12 month high of $205.76. The stock has a market cap of $47.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 1.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09, a current ratio of 1.09 and a quick ratio of 1.03.

Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The financial services provider reported $4.25 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.33 by $0.92. The company had revenue of $4.25 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.25 billion. Discover Financial Services had a return on equity of 26.18% and a net margin of 17.29%. As a group, analysts forecast that Discover Financial Services will post 13.88 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have commented on DFS. Truist Financial cut their target price on Discover Financial Services from $262.00 to $219.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, March 21st. StockNews.com cut shares of Discover Financial Services from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Discover Financial Services from $186.00 to $209.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price 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. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on Discover Financial Services from $169.00 to $129.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $188.00.

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.