Pictet Asset Management Holding SA Has $25.18 Million Stock Position in Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS)

Pictet Asset Management Holding SA boosted its holdings in shares of Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) by 12.0% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 145,325 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 15,574 shares during the period. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA’s holdings in Discover Financial Services were worth $25,175,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Discover Financial Services during the 4th quarter worth $724,720,000. C2P Capital Advisory Group LLC d.b.a. Prosperity Capital Advisors bought a new position in shares of Discover Financial Services in the fourth quarter worth about $351,766,000. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Discover Financial Services by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 31,045,208 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $5,377,961,000 after purchasing an additional 290,937 shares in the last quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC bought a new stake in shares of Discover Financial Services during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $39,067,000. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in Discover Financial Services during the 4th quarter worth approximately $38,489,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.94% of the company’s stock.

Discover Financial Services Price Performance

Discover Financial Services stock opened at $170.90 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $43.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.71, a PEG ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 1.45. Discover Financial Services has a 52-week low of $119.31 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 stock’s 50 day moving average price is $184.07 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $170.62.

Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The financial services provider reported $5.11 EPS 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%. On average, equities analysts predict that Discover Financial Services will post 13.88 earnings per share for the current year.

Discover Financial Services Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 6th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 23rd will be issued a $0.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 23rd. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.64%. Discover Financial Services’s payout ratio is currently 17.54%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have weighed in on DFS. 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. StockNews.com cut Discover Financial Services from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Barclays lifted their price target on Discover Financial Services from $186.00 to $209.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective 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, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Discover Financial Services from $146.00 to $169.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $192.40.

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.