Renaissance Group LLC Reduces Stock Position in Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS)

Renaissance Group LLC trimmed its holdings in Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) by 3.9% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 2,596 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 106 shares during the period. Renaissance Group LLC’s holdings in Discover Financial Services were worth $450,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in DFS. Hemington Wealth Management raised its holdings in Discover Financial Services by 11.0% in the fourth quarter. Hemington Wealth Management now owns 503 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $87,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. raised its stake in shares of Discover Financial Services by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 9,248 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,602,000 after purchasing an additional 56 shares in the last quarter. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. lifted its position in shares of Discover Financial Services by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. now owns 6,158 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,067,000 after purchasing an additional 57 shares during the last quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. grew its stake in Discover Financial Services by 4.2% in the fourth quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 1,411 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $244,000 after purchasing an additional 57 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Invst LLC increased its holdings in Discover Financial Services by 0.9% in the third quarter. Invst LLC now owns 7,253 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,018,000 after buying an additional 62 shares during the last quarter. 86.94% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Discover Financial Services Stock Performance

DFS opened at $148.07 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09. The business’s 50 day moving average is $178.26 and its 200-day moving average is $171.35. The stock has a market cap of $37.26 billion, a PE ratio of 9.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 1.20. Discover Financial Services has a twelve month low of $119.31 and a twelve month high of $205.76.

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

Discover Financial Services Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 6th. Shareholders 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.89%. Discover Financial Services’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 17.54%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently commented on DFS shares. Truist Financial decreased their target price on Discover Financial Services from $262.00 to $219.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, March 21st. Wells Fargo & Company lifted 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 report on Friday, January 24th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price 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. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Discover Financial Services from $186.00 to $209.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on shares of Discover Financial Services from $169.00 to $129.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $188.40.

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.