Russell Investments Group Ltd. Boosts Stake in Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS)

Russell Investments Group Ltd. increased its stake in Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) by 9.3% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 202,620 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 17,171 shares during the quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd.’s holdings in Discover Financial Services were worth $22,778,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Boston Partners boosted its holdings in shares of Discover Financial Services by 56.5% in the 3rd quarter. Boston Partners now owns 8,597,250 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $743,663,000 after purchasing an additional 3,102,119 shares in the last quarter. Truist Financial Corp raised its holdings in shares of Discover Financial Services by 239.6% during the 4th quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 2,027,686 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $227,912,000 after buying an additional 1,430,637 shares in the last quarter. Palestra Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Discover Financial Services in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $81,865,000. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Discover Financial Services by 336.5% in the third quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,133,784 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $98,220,000 after buying an additional 874,020 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. grew its position in Discover Financial Services by 30.9% during the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,233,324 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $193,473,000 after acquiring an additional 526,951 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.94% of the company’s stock.

Discover Financial Services Trading Down 2.5 %

NYSE:DFS opened at $123.58 on Thursday. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $124.25 and a 200-day moving average price of $108.13. The stock has a market cap of $30.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.09, a P/E/G ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 1.45. The company has a current ratio of 1.05, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.49. Discover Financial Services has a 12 month low of $79.04 and a 12 month high of $131.65.

Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 18th. The financial services provider reported $1.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.98 by ($1.88). Discover Financial Services had a return on equity of 16.74% and a net margin of 10.56%. The company had revenue of $4.21 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.07 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $3.58 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that Discover Financial Services will post 11.39 EPS for the current year.

Discover Financial Services Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 6th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 23rd will be given a $0.70 dividend. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.27%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 22nd. Discover Financial Services’s dividend payout ratio is currently 31.93%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on DFS. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $140.00 price objective (up from $117.00) on shares of Discover Financial Services in a report on Wednesday, February 21st. StockNews.com initiated coverage on shares of Discover Financial Services in a research report on Friday, April 26th. They set a “hold” rating for the company. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price objective on Discover Financial Services from $139.00 to $121.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 19th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their price target on Discover Financial Services from $140.00 to $111.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 19th. Finally, Seaport Res Ptn lowered Discover Financial Services from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, March 15th. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $126.29.

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; private student loans, 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.