LSV Asset Management Sells 109,500 Shares of Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS)

LSV Asset Management decreased its position in shares of Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) by 5.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,812,449 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 109,500 shares during the quarter. LSV Asset Management owned approximately 0.72% of Discover Financial Services worth $203,719,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of DFS. Boston Partners boosted its holdings in Discover Financial Services by 56.5% in the third quarter. Boston Partners now owns 8,597,250 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $743,663,000 after acquiring an additional 3,102,119 shares during the last quarter. Truist Financial Corp boosted its stake in shares of Discover Financial Services by 239.6% in the 4th quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 2,027,686 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $227,912,000 after purchasing an additional 1,430,637 shares during the last quarter. Palestra Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Discover Financial Services during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $81,865,000. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Discover Financial Services by 336.5% during the third quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,133,784 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $98,220,000 after buying an additional 874,020 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. lifted its holdings in Discover Financial Services by 30.9% in the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,233,324 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $193,473,000 after buying an additional 526,951 shares during the period. 86.94% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Discover Financial Services Stock Performance

Shares of Discover Financial Services stock traded up $0.53 during trading on Friday, reaching $125.04. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 811,004 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,326,064. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $124.41 and its 200-day moving average price is $108.48. The firm has a market cap of $31.34 billion, a PE ratio of 14.26, a P/E/G ratio of 0.74 and a beta of 1.43. Discover Financial Services has a 52 week low of $79.04 and a 52 week high of $131.65. The company has a quick ratio of 1.13, a current ratio of 1.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.50.

Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 18th. The financial services provider reported $1.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.98 by ($1.88). The business had revenue of $4.21 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.07 billion. Discover Financial Services had a net margin of 10.56% and a return on equity of 17.07%. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $3.58 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Discover Financial Services will post 11.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Discover Financial Services Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 6th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 23rd will be given a dividend of $0.70 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 22nd. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.24%. Discover Financial Services’s dividend payout ratio is 31.93%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

DFS has been the topic of several recent research reports. Morgan Stanley upgraded Discover Financial Services from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $105.00 to $133.00 in a research report on Thursday, February 8th. BMO Capital Markets decreased their target price on Discover Financial Services from $116.00 to $104.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 22nd. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price target on shares of Discover Financial Services from $139.00 to $121.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 19th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their price objective on shares of Discover Financial Services from $140.00 to $111.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 19th. Finally, Evercore ISI increased their target price on shares of Discover Financial Services from $117.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a report on Thursday, February 22nd. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Discover Financial Services presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $126.29.

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; private student loans, 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.