Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) Stock Holdings Cut by Candriam S.C.A.

Candriam S.C.A. cut its position in shares of Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) by 19.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 89,855 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 22,200 shares during the quarter. Candriam S.C.A.’s holdings in Discover Financial Services were worth $15,566,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of DFS. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 10,946 shares during the period. Brookstone Capital Management bought a new position in shares of Discover Financial Services during the 4th quarter valued at about $282,000. Meyer Handelman Co. acquired a new position in shares of Discover Financial Services in the 4th quarter worth approximately $239,000. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC bought a new stake in shares of Discover Financial Services in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $2,415,000. Finally, Mechanics Bank Trust Department acquired a new stake in Discover Financial Services during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $234,000. Institutional investors own 86.94% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

DFS has been the topic of several recent research reports. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Discover Financial Services from $186.00 to $209.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on Discover Financial Services from $193.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price 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 upgraded Discover Financial Services from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the company from $150.00 to $239.00 in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Finally, Truist Financial boosted their price objective on Discover Financial Services from $233.00 to $262.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $191.91.

Discover Financial Services Stock Performance

DFS opened at $172.10 on Friday. 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 company has a market cap of $43.30 billion, a PE ratio of 10.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 1.45. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $189.17 and a 200-day moving average of $166.66. Discover Financial Services has a 52-week low of $119.31 and a 52-week high of $205.76.

Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The financial services provider reported $5.11 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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%. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Discover Financial Services will post 13.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Discover Financial Services Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 6th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 23rd will be given a dividend of $0.70 per share. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.63%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 23rd. Discover Financial Services’s dividend payout ratio is 17.54%.

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.