Swedbank AB Has $17.65 Million Stake in Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS)

Swedbank AB grew its position in Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) by 0.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 101,862 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 237 shares during the quarter. Swedbank AB’s holdings in Discover Financial Services were worth $17,646,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. State Street Corp raised its position in Discover Financial Services by 0.8% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 10,498,044 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,472,771,000 after purchasing an additional 80,601 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC increased its stake in shares of Discover Financial Services by 8.0% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 7,493,862 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,051,314,000 after purchasing an additional 558,227 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its position in shares of Discover Financial Services by 0.7% during the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 1,834,705 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $257,391,000 after buying an additional 12,255 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in Discover Financial Services by 0.5% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,728,276 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $242,460,000 after buying an additional 7,751 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its stake in Discover Financial Services by 0.4% in the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 1,063,980 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $149,266,000 after buying an additional 4,594 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.94% of the company’s stock.

Discover Financial Services Stock Down 0.7 %

Discover Financial Services stock opened at $201.09 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $50.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.60, a PEG ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 1.46. Discover Financial Services has a 52-week low of $104.08 and a 52-week high of $205.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a current ratio of 1.09. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $181.02 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $156.47.

Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The financial services provider reported $5.11 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.13 by $1.98. Discover Financial Services had a net margin of 17.29% and a return on equity of 26.18%. Equities analysts predict that Discover Financial Services will post 13.39 EPS for the current year.

Discover Financial Services Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 6th. Investors of record on Friday, May 23rd will be given a dividend of $0.70 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 23rd. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.39%. Discover Financial Services’s payout ratio is 17.54%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently commented on DFS shares. Evercore ISI increased their target price on shares of Discover Financial Services from $156.00 to $163.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Discover Financial Services from $185.00 to $214.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” 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 boosted their target price for the stock from $150.00 to $239.00 in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on Discover Financial Services from $193.00 to $210.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Barclays boosted their price objective on Discover Financial Services from $186.00 to $209.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Discover Financial Services has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $182.64.

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.