Mizuho Securities USA LLC Increases Stake in Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS)

Mizuho Securities USA LLC increased its holdings in Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) by 46.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 23,796 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 7,515 shares during the quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC’s holdings in Discover Financial Services were worth $4,122,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of Discover Financial Services in the 4th quarter valued at about $33,000. Flagship Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Discover Financial Services in the 4th quarter valued at about $34,000. Bfsg LLC bought a new stake in shares of Discover Financial Services in the 4th quarter valued at about $35,000. Grove Bank & Trust raised its holdings in shares of Discover Financial Services by 78.1% in the 4th quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 203 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 89 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of Discover Financial Services in the 3rd quarter valued at about $30,000. 86.94% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently commented on DFS. Truist Financial reduced their price target on shares of Discover Financial Services from $262.00 to $219.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday. 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, January 24th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on shares of Discover Financial Services from $193.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Discover Financial Services from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Discover Financial Services from $185.00 to $214.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Discover Financial Services has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $192.40.

Discover Financial Services Trading Up 0.3 %

Shares of Discover Financial Services stock opened at $164.90 on Monday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $186.18 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $169.10. The firm has a market capitalization of $41.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.33, a PEG ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 1.45. The company has a current ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09. Discover Financial Services has a 12-month low of $119.31 and a 12-month high of $205.76.

Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 17.29% and a return on equity of 26.18%. Analysts predict that Discover Financial Services will post 13.88 EPS for the current year.

Discover Financial Services Dividend Announcement

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 issued a $0.70 dividend. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.70%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 23rd. Discover Financial Services’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 17.54%.

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.