Mizuho Securities USA LLC Increases Stock Position in Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS)

Mizuho Securities USA LLC boosted its stake in shares of Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) by 46.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 23,796 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 7,515 shares during the period. Mizuho Securities USA LLC’s holdings in Discover Financial Services were worth $4,122,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in DFS. Millstone Evans Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Discover Financial Services in the fourth quarter valued at about $69,000. Adams Diversified Equity Fund Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Discover Financial Services in the fourth quarter valued at about $13,495,000. TD Private Client Wealth LLC raised its position in shares of Discover Financial Services by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 27,658 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $4,791,000 after buying an additional 426 shares during the last quarter. Whittier Trust Co. raised its position in shares of Discover Financial Services by 51.3% in the fourth quarter. Whittier Trust Co. now owns 3,101 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $537,000 after buying an additional 1,051 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS raised its position in shares of Discover Financial Services by 3.7% in the fourth quarter. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS now owns 102,445 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $17,747,000 after buying an additional 3,635 shares during the last quarter. 86.94% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Discover Financial Services Stock Performance

Shares of Discover Financial Services stock opened at $164.90 on Monday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $186.18 and its 200-day simple moving average is $169.10. The stock has a market capitalization of $41.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.33, a PEG ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 1.45. Discover Financial Services has a 12 month low of $119.31 and a 12 month high of $205.76. 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 (NYSE:DFS) last announced 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%. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Discover Financial Services will post 13.88 earnings per share for the current year.

Discover Financial Services Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 6th. Investors of record on Friday, May 23rd will be given a $0.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 23rd. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.70%. Discover Financial Services’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 17.54%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently issued reports on DFS. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Discover Financial Services from $146.00 to $169.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Discover Financial Services from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of 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. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on shares of Discover Financial Services from $170.00 to $232.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Finally, Barclays raised their price objective 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. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $192.40.

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.