abrdn plc Acquires 11,511 Shares of Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS)

abrdn plc boosted its holdings in Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS - Free Report) by 12.6% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 102,552 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 11,511 shares during the quarter. abrdn plc's holdings in Discover Financial Services were worth $14,357,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of DFS. Norden Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Discover Financial Services during the 1st quarter worth $917,000. Kovack Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Discover Financial Services in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $228,000. Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Discover Financial Services by 17.4% during the 1st quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 43,562 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $5,710,000 after acquiring an additional 6,445 shares during the period. Private Advisor Group LLC boosted its position in shares of Discover Financial Services by 3.9% during the 1st quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 13,145 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,723,000 after acquiring an additional 494 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. raised its position in Discover Financial Services by 36.4% during the first quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 49,105 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $6,437,000 after purchasing an additional 13,093 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.94% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

DFS has been the subject of a number of research reports. StockNews.com initiated coverage on shares of Discover Financial Services in a report on Sunday, October 27th. They issued a "buy" rating for the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on shares of Discover Financial Services from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, July 8th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Discover Financial Services from $152.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, October 18th. Barclays raised their price objective on Discover Financial Services from $135.00 to $137.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, July 19th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on Discover Financial Services from $115.00 to $119.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research report on Friday, July 19th. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $138.81.

Discover Financial Services Trading Up 1.9 %

Shares of NYSE:DFS traded up $2.87 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $151.30. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,202,745 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,633,806. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $140.58 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $132.80. Discover Financial Services has a fifty-two week low of $82.15 and a fifty-two week high of $157.06. The firm has a market capitalization of $37.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.21, a PEG ratio of 1.00 and a beta of 1.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a current ratio of 1.08.

Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 16th. The financial services provider reported $3.69 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.28 by $0.41. The firm had revenue of $5.91 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.36 billion. Discover Financial Services had a return on equity of 21.38% and a net margin of 13.78%. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.59 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that Discover Financial Services will post 13.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Discover Financial Services Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 5th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 21st will be issued a dividend of $0.70 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 21st. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.85%. Discover Financial Services's dividend payout ratio is currently 22.60%.

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.