Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. Makes New Investment in Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS)

Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor purchased 75,285 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $13,057,000.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in DFS. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in Discover Financial Services during the fourth quarter worth about $38,489,000. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Discover Financial Services by 10.5% during the 3rd 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 purchased a new stake in Discover Financial Services in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $282,000. Meyer Handelman Co. acquired a new position in Discover Financial Services during the fourth quarter worth approximately $239,000. Finally, Mechanics Bank Trust Department acquired a new position in Discover Financial Services during the fourth quarter worth approximately $234,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.94% of the company’s stock.

Discover Financial Services Trading Down 9.0 %

NYSE DFS opened at $146.77 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $36.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.20, a PEG ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 1.20. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $181.35 and its 200-day simple moving average is $171.43. 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 52 week low of $119.31 and a 52 week high of $205.76.

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 net margin of 17.29% and a return on equity of 26.18%. Equities research analysts predict that Discover Financial Services will post 13.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Discover Financial Services Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared 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 yield of 1.91%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 23rd. Discover Financial Services’s dividend payout ratio is currently 17.54%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently issued reports on DFS shares. Truist Financial lowered their price objective on shares of Discover Financial Services from $262.00 to $219.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, March 21st. UBS Group upgraded Discover Financial Services from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $150.00 to $239.00 in a research note on Monday, January 13th. 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 report on Friday, January 24th. StockNews.com cut Discover Financial Services from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Discover Financial Services from $146.00 to $169.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $192.40.

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.