Allianz Asset Management GmbH Sells 93,368 Shares of Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS)

Allianz Asset Management GmbH trimmed its holdings in Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) by 22.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 325,119 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 93,368 shares during the quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH owned about 0.13% of Discover Financial Services worth $56,320,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Bfsg LLC bought a new position in shares of Discover Financial Services in the 4th quarter worth about $35,000. Grove Bank & Trust increased its stake in shares of Discover Financial Services by 78.1% in the 4th quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 203 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 89 shares in the last quarter. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Discover Financial Services in the 3rd quarter worth about $30,000. Hantz Financial Services Inc. bought a new position in shares of Discover Financial Services in the 4th quarter worth about $37,000. Finally, Decker Retirement Planning Inc. bought a new position in shares of Discover Financial Services in the 4th quarter worth about $47,000. 86.94% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Discover Financial Services Stock Performance

Shares of DFS stock opened at $194.21 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $186.87 and a 200-day moving average price of $163.19. Discover Financial Services has a 52 week low of $118.74 and a 52 week high of $205.76. The firm has a market capitalization of $48.81 billion, a PE ratio of 12.17, a P/E/G ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 1.46. 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 (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 research analysts expect that Discover Financial Services will post 13.88 earnings per share for the current year.

Discover Financial Services Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 6th. Investors of record on Friday, May 23rd will be issued a $0.70 dividend. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.44%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 23rd. Discover Financial Services’s payout ratio is 17.54%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have weighed in on DFS shares. 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. UBS Group upgraded shares of Discover Financial Services from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $150.00 to $239.00 in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Truist Financial raised their price objective on shares of Discover Financial Services from $233.00 to $262.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on shares of Discover Financial Services from $193.00 to $210.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of Discover Financial Services from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $186.46.

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.