Gabelli Funds LLC Has $5.06 Million Stock Position in Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS)

Gabelli Funds LLC lifted its position in shares of Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS - Free Report) by 121.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 29,200 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 16,000 shares during the quarter. Gabelli Funds LLC's holdings in Discover Financial Services were worth $5,058,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in Discover Financial Services by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 31,045,208 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $5,377,961,000 after buying an additional 290,937 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Discover Financial Services by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 7,553,016 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,308,409,000 after acquiring an additional 59,154 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Discover Financial Services by 2.7% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 6,240,451 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,082,826,000 after acquiring an additional 165,589 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Discover Financial Services in the fourth quarter valued at about $724,720,000. Finally, Invesco Ltd. raised its position in Discover Financial Services by 38.5% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,974,471 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $515,268,000 after purchasing an additional 826,287 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 opened at $159.91 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $172.12 and a 200 day moving average price of $172.18. Discover Financial Services has a fifty-two week low of $119.95 and a fifty-two week high of $205.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09, a current ratio of 1.09 and a quick ratio of 1.03. The stock has a market capitalization of $40.23 billion, a PE ratio of 10.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 1.20.

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 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%. Analysts forecast that Discover Financial Services will post 13.88 EPS 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. 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 1.75%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 23rd. Discover Financial Services's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 17.54%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

DFS has been the topic of several analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on Discover Financial Services from $193.00 to $210.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Truist Financial lowered their price target on Discover Financial Services from $262.00 to $219.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, March 21st. UBS Group raised Discover Financial Services from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $150.00 to $239.00 in a report on Monday, January 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of Discover Financial Services from $169.00 to $129.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted 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 report on Friday, January 24th. Seven 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 presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $188.40.

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.

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