Thrivent Financial for Lutherans Has $100.82 Million Stock Holdings in Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS)

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans cut its stake in Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) by 3.7% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 581,989 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 22,486 shares during the quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans’ holdings in Discover Financial Services were worth $100,818,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Discover Financial Services in the fourth quarter worth $38,489,000. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its position in 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 worth $16,202,000 after buying an additional 10,946 shares during the last quarter. Brookstone Capital Management acquired a new position in Discover Financial Services during the fourth quarter worth $282,000. Meyer Handelman Co. acquired a new position in Discover Financial Services during the fourth quarter worth $239,000. Finally, Mechanics Bank Trust Department acquired a new position in Discover Financial Services during the fourth quarter worth $234,000. 86.94% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Discover Financial Services Stock Up 3.9 %

NYSE DFS opened at $158.91 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a current ratio of 1.09. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $186.78 and a 200 day simple moving average of $168.54. Discover Financial Services has a twelve month low of $119.31 and a twelve month high of $205.76. The stock has a market cap of $39.98 billion, a PE ratio of 9.96, a PEG ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 1.45.

Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The financial services provider reported $5.11 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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%. On average, research analysts forecast that Discover Financial Services will post 13.88 EPS for the current year.

Discover Financial Services Dividend Announcement

The business 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 $0.70 dividend. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.76%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 23rd. Discover Financial Services’s payout ratio is presently 17.54%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have commented on DFS shares. UBS Group raised shares of Discover Financial Services from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $150.00 to $239.00 in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Truist Financial increased their target price on shares of Discover Financial Services from $233.00 to $262.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Discover Financial Services from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price 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. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Discover Financial Services from $185.00 to $214.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $191.91.

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.