Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lessened its holdings in Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS - Free Report) by 12.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 930,866 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 133,114 shares during the quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA owned 0.37% of Discover Financial Services worth $161,254,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.
A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of DFS. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Discover Financial Services during the 4th quarter worth approximately $724,720,000. C2P Capital Advisory Group LLC d.b.a. Prosperity Capital Advisors acquired a new position in shares of Discover Financial Services in the 4th quarter valued at $351,766,000. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in Discover Financial Services by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 31,045,208 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $5,377,961,000 after acquiring an additional 290,937 shares during the last quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC acquired a new stake in Discover Financial Services during the 4th quarter worth about $39,067,000. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in Discover Financial Services during the 4th quarter valued at about $38,489,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.94% of the company's stock.
Discover Financial Services Stock Down 8.4 %
Discover Financial Services stock traded down $14.29 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $156.56. The company's stock had a trading volume of 458,512 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,572,000. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $177.04 and a 200-day simple moving average of $171.56. The company has a market cap of $39.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.78, a P/E/G ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 1.20. Discover Financial Services has a fifty-two week low of $119.31 and a fifty-two week high of $205.76. 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 (NYSE:DFS - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The financial services provider reported $5.11 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, research analysts expect that Discover Financial Services will post 13.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
Discover Financial Services Dividend Announcement
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 issued a $0.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 23rd. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.79%. Discover Financial Services's payout ratio is 17.54%.
Wall Street Analyst Weigh In
Several brokerages have commented on DFS. StockNews.com cut shares of Discover Financial Services from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target 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. Barclays lifted 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. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on 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, Truist Financial reduced their price target on 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. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Discover Financial Services currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $188.40.
Read Our Latest Research Report on Discover Financial Services
Discover Financial Services Profile
(
Free Report)
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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