Royal London Asset Management Ltd. Boosts Stock Holdings in Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS)

Royal London Asset Management Ltd. boosted its position in Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) by 3.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 100,103 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,041 shares during the period. Royal London Asset Management Ltd.’s holdings in Discover Financial Services were worth $11,252,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Discover Financial Services during the fourth quarter worth about $322,199,000. Truist Financial Corp grew its holdings in shares of Discover Financial Services by 239.6% in the 4th quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 2,027,686 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $227,912,000 after acquiring an additional 1,430,637 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA acquired a new stake in shares of Discover Financial Services in the 4th quarter worth approximately $121,113,000. Palestra Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Discover Financial Services in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $81,865,000. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Discover Financial Services by 336.5% during the third quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,133,784 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $98,220,000 after purchasing an additional 874,020 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.94% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on DFS shares. Citigroup lifted their price target on Discover Financial Services from $127.00 to $168.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 23rd. Seaport Res Ptn downgraded shares of Discover Financial Services from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, March 15th. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on shares of Discover Financial Services from $117.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 22nd. BTIG Research initiated coverage on Discover Financial Services in a research note on Friday, June 7th. They issued a “neutral” rating on the stock. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Discover Financial Services from $110.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Discover Financial Services has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $126.29.

Discover Financial Services Trading Down 0.3 %

Discover Financial Services stock traded down $0.33 during trading on Friday, reaching $122.00. The company had a trading volume of 1,384,773 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,166,573. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.50, a quick ratio of 1.12 and a current ratio of 1.12. The firm has a market capitalization of $30.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.91, a PEG ratio of 0.74 and a beta of 1.41. Discover Financial Services has a 12-month low of $79.04 and a 12-month high of $131.65. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $124.01 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $116.78.

Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 18th. The financial services provider reported $1.10 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.98 by ($1.88). Discover Financial Services had a return on equity of 17.07% and a net margin of 10.56%. The firm had revenue of $4.21 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.07 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $3.58 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that Discover Financial Services will post 11.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Discover Financial Services Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 6th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 23rd were paid a $0.70 dividend. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.30%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, May 22nd. Discover Financial Services’s dividend payout ratio is currently 31.93%.

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; private student loans, 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.