Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) Holdings Cut by CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co

CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co trimmed its stake in shares of Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) by 9.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 291,072 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 31,628 shares during the quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co owned about 0.12% of Discover Financial Services worth $50,458,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in 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 valued at $5,377,961,000 after buying an additional 290,937 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC increased its stake in shares of Discover Financial Services by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 7,553,016 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,308,409,000 after purchasing an additional 59,154 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Discover Financial Services by 2.7% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 6,240,451 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,082,826,000 after buying an additional 165,589 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Discover Financial Services during the fourth quarter worth approximately $724,720,000. Finally, Invesco Ltd. increased its position in Discover Financial Services by 38.5% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,974,471 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $515,268,000 after acquiring an additional 826,287 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 86.94% of the company’s stock.

Discover Financial Services Stock Up 2.3 %

Shares of NYSE:DFS opened at $159.91 on Friday. Discover Financial Services has a 52 week low of $119.95 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 company has a market cap of $40.23 billion, a PE ratio of 10.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 1.20. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $172.12 and a 200 day simple moving average of $172.18.

Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The financial services provider reported $5.11 earnings per share 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%. As a group, research analysts expect that Discover Financial Services will post 13.88 earnings per share for the current year.

Discover Financial Services Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 6th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 23rd will be paid a dividend of $0.70 per share. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.75%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 23rd. Discover Financial Services’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 17.54%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently commented on DFS shares. StockNews.com lowered Discover Financial Services from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday. Truist Financial decreased their price objective 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, March 21st. Barclays increased 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 lifted their target price on Discover Financial Services from $193.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, 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 research note on Friday, January 24th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $188.40.

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.