Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo & Co. LLC Sells 94,099 Shares of Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS)

Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo & Co. LLC cut its holdings in shares of Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS - Free Report) by 25.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 277,394 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 94,099 shares during the quarter. Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo & Co. LLC owned 0.11% of Discover Financial Services worth $48,053,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in Discover Financial Services in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $38,489,000. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings in Discover Financial Services by 10.5% during the third quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 115,487 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $16,202,000 after buying an additional 10,946 shares in the last quarter. Brookstone Capital Management purchased a new stake in Discover Financial Services during the fourth quarter worth $282,000. Meyer Handelman Co. acquired a new stake in Discover Financial Services during the fourth quarter valued at $239,000. Finally, Mechanics Bank Trust Department purchased a new position in Discover Financial Services in the fourth quarter valued at $234,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.94% of the company's stock.

Discover Financial Services Stock Performance

DFS traded down $12.66 during trading on Thursday, reaching $158.19. The company's stock had a trading volume of 706,455 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,572,934. The company has a market capitalization of $39.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 1.20. Discover Financial Services has a 52-week low of $119.31 and a 52-week high of $205.76. The company's fifty day moving average price is $177.04 and its 200-day moving average price is $171.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a current ratio of 1.09.

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Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly 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%. On average, equities analysts forecast 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 announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 6th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 23rd will be given a $0.70 dividend. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.77%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 23rd. Discover Financial Services's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 17.54%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently issued reports on DFS. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price 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. Barclays increased their price objective on Discover Financial Services from $186.00 to $209.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Discover Financial Services from $185.00 to $214.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Truist Financial decreased their price objective on Discover Financial Services from $262.00 to $219.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, March 21st. Finally, UBS Group raised Discover Financial Services from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their target price for the stock from $150.00 to $239.00 in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $188.40.

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.