Fisher Asset Management LLC Invests $385,000 in Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS)

Fisher Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 2,222 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $385,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. State Street Corp grew its stake in 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 acquiring an additional 80,601 shares during the period. FMR LLC grew its stake in 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 acquiring an additional 558,227 shares during the period. C2P Capital Advisory Group LLC d.b.a. Prosperity Capital Advisors acquired a new position in Discover Financial Services in the fourth quarter valued at about $351,766,000. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its position in shares of Discover Financial Services by 0.7% during 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 worth $257,391,000 after buying an additional 12,255 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Discover Financial Services by 0.5% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,728,276 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $242,460,000 after buying an additional 7,751 shares during the period. 86.94% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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Discover Financial Services Trading Down 3.1 %

Shares of NYSE:DFS traded down $5.29 during trading on Friday, reaching $167.38. 5,501,037 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,355,878. The company has a current ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09. The firm has a market capitalization of $42.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.49, a P/E/G ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 1.45. The business's fifty day moving average is $189.03 and its 200-day moving average is $167.10. Discover Financial Services has a 52-week low of $119.31 and a 52-week high of $205.76.

Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 22nd. The financial services provider reported $5.11 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.13 by $1.98. 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.

Discover Financial Services Dividend Announcement

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 paid a $0.70 dividend. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.67%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 23rd. Discover Financial Services's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 17.54%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

DFS has been the subject of several recent research reports. UBS Group raised Discover Financial Services from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $150.00 to $239.00 in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on Discover Financial Services from $170.00 to $232.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped 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. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on Discover Financial Services from $193.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $191.91.

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.