Van ECK Associates Corp decreased its stake in Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS - Free Report) by 31.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 31,415 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 14,550 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp's holdings in Discover Financial Services were worth $5,442,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.
Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. National Pension Service raised its holdings in Discover Financial Services by 14.8% in the 3rd quarter. National Pension Service now owns 439,756 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $61,693,000 after acquiring an additional 56,814 shares in the last quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its position in shares of Discover Financial Services by 10.5% during the third quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 115,487 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $16,202,000 after purchasing an additional 10,946 shares during the period. Brookstone Capital Management acquired a new position in shares of Discover Financial Services in the fourth quarter valued at $282,000. Meyer Handelman Co. bought a new position in Discover Financial Services in the fourth quarter worth $239,000. Finally, Janney Montgomery Scott LLC acquired a new stake in Discover Financial Services during the third quarter worth $2,415,000. Institutional investors own 86.94% of the company's stock.
Discover Financial Services Price Performance
Shares of DFS stock traded down $5.69 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $194.21. 2,476,043 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,645,162. Discover Financial Services has a 52 week low of $118.74 and a 52 week high of $205.76. The stock has a market cap of $48.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.53 and a beta of 1.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09, a current ratio of 1.09 and a quick ratio of 1.03. The stock's 50-day moving average is $186.51 and its 200-day moving average is $162.43.
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 EPS for the quarter, topping 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%. As a group, research analysts forecast that Discover Financial Services will post 13.88 EPS for the current 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 issued a $0.70 dividend. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.44%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 23rd. Discover Financial Services's dividend payout ratio is currently 17.54%.
Analyst Ratings Changes
A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on DFS. StockNews.com cut shares of Discover Financial Services from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Truist Financial raised their price target on shares of Discover Financial Services from $233.00 to $262.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted 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. Evercore ISI increased their target price on Discover Financial Services from $156.00 to $163.00 and gave the stock an "in-line" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on 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. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Discover Financial Services has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $186.46.
Read Our Latest Analysis on DFS
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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