Legal & General Group Plc Has $280.59 Million Stock Holdings in Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS)

Legal & General Group Plc lowered its stake in Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) by 21.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,619,727 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 435,516 shares during the quarter. Legal & General Group Plc owned about 0.64% of Discover Financial Services worth $280,585,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in Discover Financial Services in the fourth quarter valued at about $33,000. Flagship Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Discover Financial Services in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Grove Bank & Trust boosted its stake in Discover Financial Services by 78.1% during 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 during the last quarter. Bfsg LLC bought a new stake in Discover Financial Services in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Finally, Hantz Financial Services Inc. acquired a new stake in Discover Financial Services in the fourth quarter worth $37,000. 86.94% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Discover Financial Services Trading Down 1.9 %

Shares of NYSE:DFS opened at $148.07 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $37.26 billion, a PE ratio of 9.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 1.20. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $178.26 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $171.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09, a current ratio of 1.09 and a quick ratio of 1.03. Discover Financial Services has a one year low of $119.31 and a one year high of $205.76.

Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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 return on equity of 26.18% and a net margin of 17.29%. On average, equities analysts forecast that Discover Financial Services will post 13.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Discover Financial Services Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 6th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 23rd will be given a $0.70 dividend. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.89%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 23rd. Discover Financial Services’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 17.54%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on shares of Discover Financial Services from $193.00 to $210.00 and gave the company 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. Truist Financial decreased their price objective on Discover Financial Services from $262.00 to $219.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, March 21st. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Discover Financial Services from $185.00 to $214.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Barclays upped their price target on shares of Discover Financial Services from $186.00 to $209.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $188.40.

Discover Financial Services 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.