Capital International Investors Has $309.29 Million Stake in Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS)

Capital International Investors reduced its stake in shares of Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) by 5.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 1,785,443 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 93,233 shares during the quarter. Capital International Investors’ holdings in Discover Financial Services were worth $309,292,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Capital International Sarl grew its holdings in shares of Discover Financial Services by 38.4% during the 4th quarter. Capital International Sarl now owns 10,744 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,861,000 after acquiring an additional 2,983 shares in the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP increased its position in Discover Financial Services by 21.2% in the 4th quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 289,264 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $50,109,000 after purchasing an additional 50,666 shares during the last quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Discover Financial Services by 27.8% during the 4th quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 12,546 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,173,000 after purchasing an additional 2,726 shares in the last quarter. Stenger Family Office LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Discover Financial Services during the 4th quarter valued at about $1,298,000. Finally, United Capital Financial Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Discover Financial Services by 1.6% in the 4th quarter. United Capital Financial Advisors LLC now owns 14,256 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,470,000 after buying an additional 228 shares in the last quarter. 86.94% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have commented on DFS shares. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Discover Financial Services from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Wells Fargo & Company increased 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 research report on Friday, January 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on Discover Financial Services from $169.00 to $129.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. UBS Group raised 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 report on Monday, January 13th. Finally, Truist Financial reduced their target price on Discover Financial Services from $262.00 to $219.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, March 21st. Seven research 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.com, Discover Financial Services currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $188.40.

Discover Financial Services Trading Up 2.3 %

Shares of Discover Financial Services stock opened at $159.91 on Friday. Discover Financial Services has a 1 year low of $119.95 and a 1 year high of $205.76. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $171.42 and its 200-day simple moving average is $172.34. The company has a market cap of $40.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.02, a PEG ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 1.20. 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 (NYSE:DFS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The financial services provider reported $5.11 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.13 by $1.98. Discover Financial Services had a net margin of 17.29% and a return on equity of 26.18%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Discover Financial Services will post 13.88 EPS for the current year.

Discover Financial Services Dividend Announcement

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 dividend of $0.70 per share. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.75%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 23rd. Discover Financial Services’s dividend payout ratio is presently 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.