Flputnam Investment Management Co. Decreases Stock Holdings in Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS)

Flputnam Investment Management Co. cut its holdings in Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS - Free Report) by 21.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 12,423 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 3,367 shares during the quarter. Flputnam Investment Management Co.'s holdings in Discover Financial Services were worth $2,152,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Hemington Wealth Management grew its holdings in shares of Discover Financial Services by 11.0% in the fourth quarter. Hemington Wealth Management now owns 503 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $87,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. grew its holdings in shares of Discover Financial Services by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 9,248 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,602,000 after purchasing an additional 56 shares in the last quarter. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. grew its holdings in shares of Discover Financial Services by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. now owns 6,158 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,067,000 after purchasing an additional 57 shares in the last quarter. Invst LLC boosted its stake in Discover Financial Services by 0.9% during the third quarter. Invst LLC now owns 7,253 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,018,000 after buying an additional 62 shares during the period. Finally, CTC Alternative Strategies Ltd. boosted its stake in Discover Financial Services by 3.2% during the third quarter. CTC Alternative Strategies Ltd. now owns 2,047 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $287,000 after buying an additional 63 shares during the period. 86.94% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have commented on the stock. Truist Financial lifted their price objective on shares of Discover Financial Services from $233.00 to $262.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. UBS Group raised shares of Discover Financial Services from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $150.00 to $239.00 in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Discover Financial Services from $186.00 to $209.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on shares of 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. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of Discover Financial Services from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $191.91.

Discover Financial Services Stock Down 3.9 %

Shares of DFS stock traded down $7.03 on Thursday, hitting $173.91. The stock had a trading volume of 795,938 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,340,902. The company has a quick ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $189.27 and a 200 day moving average price of $166.62. The company has a market cap of $43.76 billion, a PE ratio of 10.92, a P/E/G ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 1.46. Discover Financial Services has a one year low of $118.74 and a one year high of $205.76.

Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 22nd. The financial services provider reported $5.11 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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%. Research analysts anticipate that Discover Financial Services will post 13.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Discover Financial Services Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared 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 dividend yield of 1.61%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 23rd. Discover Financial Services's payout ratio is 17.54%.

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.