Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA Decreases Stake in Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS)

Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA cut its holdings in shares of Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) by 12.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 930,866 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 133,114 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA owned approximately 0.37% of Discover Financial Services worth $161,254,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Discover Financial Services in the fourth quarter worth approximately $724,720,000. C2P Capital Advisory Group LLC d.b.a. Prosperity Capital Advisors purchased a new position in shares of Discover Financial Services in the 4th quarter worth $351,766,000. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Discover Financial Services by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 31,045,208 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $5,377,961,000 after acquiring an additional 290,937 shares during the period. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC purchased a new stake in Discover Financial Services during the fourth quarter valued at $39,067,000. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in Discover Financial Services in the fourth quarter valued at about $38,489,000. 86.94% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Discover Financial Services Trading Down 9.0 %

Discover Financial Services stock opened at $146.77 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09, a current ratio of 1.09 and a quick ratio of 1.03. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $181.35 and its 200-day moving average price is $170.95. Discover Financial Services has a 1 year low of $119.31 and a 1 year high of $205.76. The stock has a market cap of $36.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.20, a PEG ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 1.45.

Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The financial services provider reported $5.11 EPS for the quarter, topping 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%. On average, equities analysts predict that Discover Financial Services will post 13.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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 dividend of $0.70 per share. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.91%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 23rd. Discover Financial Services’s dividend payout ratio is presently 17.54%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on shares of Discover Financial Services from $193.00 to $210.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Discover Financial Services from $186.00 to $209.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Discover Financial Services from $146.00 to $169.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. UBS Group raised Discover Financial Services from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $150.00 to $239.00 in a report on Monday, January 13th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on Discover Financial Services from $170.00 to $232.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $192.40.

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; 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.