Geode Capital Management LLC Increases Stake in Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS)

Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) by 2.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 6,240,451 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 165,589 shares during the quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC owned approximately 2.48% of Discover Financial Services worth $1,082,826,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Discover Financial Services in the fourth quarter worth about $724,720,000. C2P Capital Advisory Group LLC d.b.a. Prosperity Capital Advisors bought a new stake in Discover Financial Services in the 4th quarter worth approximately $351,766,000. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Discover Financial Services by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 31,045,208 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $5,377,961,000 after acquiring an additional 290,937 shares in the last quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC bought a new position in shares of Discover Financial Services during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $39,067,000. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of Discover Financial Services during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $38,489,000. Institutional investors own 86.94% of the company’s stock.

Discover Financial Services Stock Performance

DFS stock opened at $170.32 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $42.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.67, a PEG ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 1.45. Discover Financial Services has a twelve month low of $119.31 and a twelve month high of $205.76. The company has a quick ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $183.68 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $170.89.

Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 22nd. The financial services provider reported $5.11 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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%. Analysts predict that Discover Financial Services will post 13.88 earnings per share for the current year.

Discover Financial Services Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 23rd. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.64%. Discover Financial Services’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 17.54%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have commented on DFS shares. UBS Group upgraded shares of Discover Financial Services from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $150.00 to $239.00 in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Truist Financial lowered their price target on shares of Discover Financial Services from $262.00 to $219.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, March 21st. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Discover Financial Services from $185.00 to $214.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Discover Financial Services from $146.00 to $169.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Barclays lifted their target price on Discover Financial Services from $186.00 to $209.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Discover Financial Services has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $192.40.

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.