Tredje AP fonden Cuts Stock Position in Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS)

Tredje AP fonden cut its holdings in shares of Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) by 50.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 19,658 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 19,657 shares during the quarter. Tredje AP fonden’s holdings in Discover Financial Services were worth $3,405,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in Discover Financial Services in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $38,489,000. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Discover Financial Services by 10.5% in 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 buying an additional 10,946 shares during the period. Brookstone Capital Management purchased a new position in shares of Discover Financial Services during the 4th quarter valued at $282,000. Meyer Handelman Co. bought a new position in shares of Discover Financial Services during the 4th quarter worth $239,000. Finally, Mechanics Bank Trust Department purchased a new stake in Discover Financial Services in the 4th quarter worth about $234,000. 86.94% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

Discover Financial Services Price Performance

Shares of NYSE DFS opened at $158.89 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $187.91 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $167.60. Discover Financial Services has a twelve month low of $119.31 and a twelve month high of $205.76. The firm has a market capitalization of $39.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.96, a P/E/G ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 1.45. The company has a quick ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09.

Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) last posted 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 26.18%. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Discover Financial Services will post 13.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Discover Financial Services Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 6th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 23rd will be given a dividend of $0.70 per share. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.76%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 23rd. Discover Financial Services’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 17.54%.

About Discover Financial Services

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.