iA Global Asset Management Inc. Reduces Holdings in Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS)

iA Global Asset Management Inc. cut its holdings in Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS - Free Report) by 19.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 10,039 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 2,416 shares during the quarter. iA Global Asset Management Inc.'s holdings in Discover Financial Services were worth $1,739,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. C2P Capital Advisory Group LLC d.b.a. Prosperity Capital Advisors purchased a new position in Discover Financial Services in the fourth quarter valued at about $351,766,000. FMR LLC grew its holdings 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 worth $1,051,314,000 after purchasing an additional 558,227 shares during the last quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC acquired a new position in shares of Discover Financial Services during the fourth quarter worth $39,067,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Discover Financial Services during the fourth quarter worth $38,489,000. Finally, Proficio Capital Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Discover Financial Services during the 4th quarter worth about $36,219,000. 86.94% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Discover Financial Services Price Performance

DFS traded down $0.27 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $169.86. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,534,139 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,412,556. The firm has a market capitalization of $42.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.64, a P/E/G ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 1.45. Discover Financial Services has a twelve month low of $119.31 and a twelve month high of $205.76. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $185.84 and its 200 day simple moving average is $169.65. The company has a current ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity 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 (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.13 by $1.98. Discover Financial Services had a net margin of 17.29% and a return on equity of 26.18%. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Discover Financial Services will post 13.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Discover Financial Services Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 6th. Investors of record on Friday, May 23rd will be given a dividend of $0.70 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 23rd. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.65%. Discover Financial Services's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 17.54%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently commented on DFS. StockNews.com lowered Discover Financial Services from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Truist Financial decreased their target price on shares of Discover Financial Services from $262.00 to $219.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Friday. UBS Group raised Discover Financial Services from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their price target for the stock from $150.00 to $239.00 in a research report on Monday, January 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Discover Financial Services from $146.00 to $169.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on Discover Financial Services from $170.00 to $232.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $192.40.

About Discover Financial Services

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.