Greenland Capital Management LP Acquires 42,157 Shares of Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS)

Greenland Capital Management LP lifted its holdings in shares of Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) by 421.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 52,157 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 42,157 shares during the quarter. Discover Financial Services comprises approximately 1.5% of Greenland Capital Management LP’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 14th biggest holding. Greenland Capital Management LP’s holdings in Discover Financial Services were worth $9,035,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Discover Financial Services during the 4th quarter valued at $38,489,000. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 10,946 shares during the period. Brookstone Capital Management bought a new stake in Discover Financial Services in the fourth quarter valued at about $282,000. Meyer Handelman Co. acquired a new position in Discover Financial Services in the fourth quarter valued at about $239,000. Finally, Mechanics Bank Trust Department bought a new position in Discover Financial Services during the fourth quarter worth about $234,000. 86.94% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

DFS has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Barclays upped their price target on Discover Financial Services from $186.00 to $209.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. UBS Group raised shares of Discover Financial Services from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the company from $150.00 to $239.00 in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Discover Financial Services from $185.00 to $214.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target 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. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on Discover Financial Services from $170.00 to $232.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $192.40.

Discover Financial Services Stock Performance

Shares of Discover Financial Services stock opened at $150.78 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09, a current ratio of 1.09 and a quick ratio of 1.03. The firm has a market cap of $37.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 1.20. Discover Financial Services has a one year low of $119.31 and a one year high of $205.76. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $180.36 and its 200-day moving average is $171.47.

Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The financial services provider reported $5.11 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.13 by $1.98. Discover Financial Services had a return on equity of 26.18% and a net margin of 17.29%. Equities analysts predict that Discover Financial Services will post 13.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Discover Financial Services Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 6th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 23rd will be paid a $0.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 23rd. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.86%. Discover Financial Services’s payout ratio is currently 17.54%.

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.