Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo & Co. LLC Reduces Stock Position in Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS)

Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo & Co. LLC trimmed its position in Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) by 25.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 277,394 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 94,099 shares during the period. Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo & Co. LLC’s holdings in Discover Financial Services were worth $48,053,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of DFS. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Discover Financial Services during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Flagship Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Discover Financial Services in the 4th quarter valued at $34,000. Bfsg LLC purchased a new position in shares of Discover Financial Services during the 4th quarter worth $35,000. Grove Bank & Trust boosted its holdings in shares of Discover Financial Services by 78.1% during the fourth quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 203 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 89 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Discover Financial Services in the third quarter valued at $30,000. 86.94% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

DFS has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Truist Financial reduced their target price on Discover Financial Services from $262.00 to $219.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, March 21st. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on shares of Discover Financial Services from $193.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Discover Financial Services from $146.00 to $169.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Barclays increased 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 note on Friday, January 24th. Finally, UBS Group raised shares of Discover Financial Services from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $150.00 to $239.00 in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $192.40.

Discover Financial Services Stock Performance

NYSE:DFS opened at $146.77 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $181.35 and its 200 day simple moving average is $170.95. The company has a current ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09. Discover Financial Services has a twelve month low of $119.31 and a twelve month high of $205.76. The firm has a market capitalization of $36.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.20, a PEG ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 1.45.

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

Discover Financial Services Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 6th. Shareholders 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 yield of 1.91%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 23rd. Discover Financial Services’s dividend payout ratio is presently 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.