Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) Shares Purchased by Marshall Wace LLP

Marshall Wace LLP boosted its position in shares of Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS - Free Report) by 21.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 289,264 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 50,666 shares during the quarter. Marshall Wace LLP owned 0.12% of Discover Financial Services worth $50,109,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. NewEdge Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Discover Financial Services by 27.8% in the fourth quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 12,546 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $2,173,000 after acquiring an additional 2,726 shares during the last quarter. Stenger Family Office LLC bought a new stake in shares of Discover Financial Services during the fourth quarter worth $1,298,000. United Capital Financial Advisors LLC raised its position in Discover Financial Services by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. United Capital Financial Advisors LLC now owns 14,256 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $2,470,000 after purchasing an additional 228 shares during the last quarter. GABELLI & Co INVESTMENT ADVISERS INC. raised its position in shares of Discover Financial Services by 182.3% during the fourth quarter. GABELLI & Co INVESTMENT ADVISERS INC. now owns 36,555 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $6,332,000 after acquiring an additional 23,605 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Gamco Investors INC. ET AL acquired a new position in Discover Financial Services in the fourth quarter valued at $281,000. 86.94% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

DFS has been the subject of several research reports. Truist Financial reduced their price target 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, March 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on shares of Discover Financial Services from $169.00 to $129.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. StockNews.com downgraded Discover Financial Services from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of 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. Finally, Barclays raised their price target on Discover Financial Services from $186.00 to $209.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Discover Financial Services presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $188.40.

Discover Financial Services Trading Up 2.3 %

DFS traded up $3.60 on Friday, hitting $159.91. The company had a trading volume of 1,106,264 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,574,548. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $171.42 and its 200 day simple moving average is $172.84. The company has a quick ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09. Discover Financial Services has a 12-month low of $119.95 and a 12-month high of $205.76. The company has a market cap of $40.23 billion, a PE ratio of 10.02, a PEG ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 1.20.

Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS - Get Free Report) last announced 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 return on equity of 26.18% and a net margin of 17.29%. Equities research analysts expect 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 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 1.75%. Discover Financial Services's payout ratio is currently 17.54%.

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.