Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) Stock Position Lifted by Vestcor Inc

Vestcor Inc increased its stake in shares of Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS - Free Report) by 787.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 41,132 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 36,496 shares during the period. Vestcor Inc's holdings in Discover Financial Services were worth $7,125,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Discover Financial Services during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $30,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Discover Financial Services during the 4th quarter valued at $33,000. Grove Bank & Trust lifted its position in shares of Discover Financial Services by 78.1% during the 4th quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 203 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 89 shares during the last quarter. Bfsg LLC purchased a new stake in Discover Financial Services in the 4th quarter worth about $35,000. Finally, Hantz Financial Services Inc. purchased a new stake in Discover Financial Services in the 4th quarter worth about $37,000. Institutional investors own 86.94% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

DFS has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. StockNews.com cut shares of Discover Financial Services from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Discover Financial Services from $146.00 to $169.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. UBS Group raised shares of Discover Financial Services from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their price target for the stock from $150.00 to $239.00 in a report on Monday, January 13th. Truist Financial upped their price objective on shares of Discover Financial Services from $233.00 to $262.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Barclays increased their target price on shares of Discover Financial Services from $186.00 to $209.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $191.91.

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Discover Financial Services Stock Down 2.9 %

NYSE DFS traded down $4.77 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $158.89. The stock had a trading volume of 1,470,837 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,370,014. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $187.91 and a 200 day moving average price of $167.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09, a current ratio of 1.09 and a quick ratio of 1.03. Discover Financial Services has a 1 year low of $119.31 and a 1 year high of $205.76. The stock has a market cap of $39.98 billion, a PE ratio of 9.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 1.45.

Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS - Get Free Report) last released 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%. On average, research analysts expect that Discover Financial Services will post 13.88 earnings per share for the current year.

Discover Financial Services Dividend Announcement

The company 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 of this dividend is Friday, May 23rd. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.76%. Discover Financial Services's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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.