Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. Cuts Holdings in Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS)

Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. reduced its stake in shares of Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS - Free Report) by 1.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 277,126 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 5,000 shares during the quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. owned 0.11% of Discover Financial Services worth $48,007,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. State Street Corp boosted its stake in Discover Financial Services by 0.8% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 10,498,044 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,472,771,000 after purchasing an additional 80,601 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC boosted 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 valued at $1,051,314,000 after acquiring an additional 558,227 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its position in Discover Financial Services by 0.7% in the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 1,834,705 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $257,391,000 after purchasing an additional 12,255 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in Discover Financial Services by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,728,276 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $242,460,000 after purchasing an additional 7,751 shares during the period. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its stake in shares of Discover Financial Services by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 1,063,980 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $149,266,000 after purchasing an additional 4,594 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.94% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on DFS shares. UBS Group raised Discover Financial Services from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $150.00 to $239.00 in a research note on Monday, January 13th. StockNews.com downgraded Discover Financial Services from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on shares of Discover Financial Services from $193.00 to $210.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of 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. Finally, Barclays boosted their price target on Discover Financial Services from $186.00 to $209.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $182.64.

Discover Financial Services Trading Up 0.7 %

Shares of Discover Financial Services stock traded up $1.39 on Thursday, hitting $202.42. The stock had a trading volume of 1,327,991 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,535,389. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $180.47 and a 200 day moving average of $156.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a current ratio of 1.10. Discover Financial Services has a twelve month low of $104.08 and a twelve month high of $205.76. The firm has a market capitalization of $50.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.68, a PEG ratio of 1.15 and a beta of 1.46.

Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 22nd. The financial services provider reported $5.11 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.13 by $1.98. Discover Financial Services had a net margin of 17.29% and a return on equity of 27.52%. Sell-side analysts expect that Discover Financial Services will post 12.82 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. Investors of record on Friday, May 23rd will be paid a dividend of $0.70 per share. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.38%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 23rd. Discover Financial Services's dividend payout ratio is presently 17.54%.

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.