Geode Capital Management LLC Acquires 165,589 Shares of Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS)

Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) by 2.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 6,240,451 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 165,589 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Discover Financial Services were worth $1,082,826,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Townsquare Capital LLC boosted its position in Discover Financial Services by 4.5% during the 3rd quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 4,769 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $669,000 after acquiring an additional 204 shares in the last quarter. Bridgewater Associates LP bought a new stake in Discover Financial Services during the third quarter valued at about $500,000. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec grew its stake in Discover Financial Services by 2.5% in the third quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec now owns 57,400 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $8,053,000 after purchasing an additional 1,400 shares during the last quarter. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. bought a new position in Discover Financial Services in the third quarter worth about $30,000. Finally, Atom Investors LP lifted its position in shares of Discover Financial Services by 69.5% during the third quarter. Atom Investors LP now owns 3,489 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $489,000 after buying an additional 1,430 shares during the last quarter. 86.94% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Discover Financial Services Stock Down 0.2 %

Discover Financial Services stock opened at $170.32 on Wednesday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $183.68 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $170.89. 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 company has a market cap of $42.85 billion, a PE ratio of 10.67, a PEG ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 1.45. Discover Financial Services has a fifty-two week low of $119.31 and a fifty-two week high of $205.76.

Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The financial services provider reported $5.11 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.13 by $1.98. Discover Financial Services had a return on equity of 26.18% and a net margin of 17.29%. Equities analysts anticipate that Discover Financial Services will post 13.88 EPS for the current year.

Discover Financial Services Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed 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 1.64%. Discover Financial Services’s payout ratio is currently 17.54%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

DFS has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Discover Financial Services from $146.00 to $169.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on shares of Discover Financial Services from $193.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. StockNews.com lowered Discover Financial Services from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Truist Financial dropped their target price on Discover Financial Services from $262.00 to $219.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, March 21st. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on Discover Financial Services from $170.00 to $232.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $192.40.

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.