Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) Shares Acquired by KBC Group NV

KBC Group NV boosted its holdings in Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) by 19.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 924,033 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 147,558 shares during the quarter. KBC Group NV’s holdings in Discover Financial Services were worth $160,070,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its holdings in shares of Discover Financial Services by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 9,248 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,602,000 after acquiring an additional 56 shares during the period. Invst LLC raised its stake in Discover Financial Services by 0.9% during the third quarter. Invst LLC now owns 7,253 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,018,000 after purchasing an additional 62 shares during the period. CTC Alternative Strategies Ltd. raised its stake in Discover Financial Services by 3.2% during the third quarter. CTC Alternative Strategies Ltd. now owns 2,047 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $287,000 after purchasing an additional 63 shares during the period. Eagle Bluffs Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Discover Financial Services by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. Eagle Bluffs Wealth Management LLC now owns 14,501 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,034,000 after buying an additional 67 shares during the period. Finally, Venturi Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Discover Financial Services by 27.4% during the 3rd quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 316 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $44,000 after buying an additional 68 shares during the last quarter. 86.94% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. UBS Group raised Discover Financial Services from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $150.00 to $239.00 in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Discover Financial Services from $185.00 to $214.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on shares of Discover Financial Services from $170.00 to $232.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. Barclays boosted their price objective 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. Finally, Truist Financial initiated coverage on shares of Discover Financial Services in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. They set a “buy” rating and a $233.00 target price on the stock. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $180.57.

Discover Financial Services Stock Up 0.3 %

Shares of NYSE DFS opened at $201.59 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a current ratio of 1.10. Discover Financial Services has a 1 year low of $101.71 and a 1 year high of $204.93. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $178.82 and its 200-day simple moving average is $154.68. The firm has a market cap of $50.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.63, a PEG ratio of 1.15 and a beta of 1.46.

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 27.52% and a net margin of 17.29%. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Discover Financial Services will post 12.82 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Discover Financial Services Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 6th. Stockholders 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.39%. Discover Financial Services’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.