AssuredPartners Investment Advisors LLC Takes $215,000 Position in Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS)

AssuredPartners Investment Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 1,241 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $215,000.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of DFS. NEOS Investment Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Discover Financial Services by 30.9% in the fourth quarter. NEOS Investment Management LLC now owns 15,361 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,661,000 after buying an additional 3,630 shares during the last quarter. Mint Tower Capital Management B.V. lifted its holdings in Discover Financial Services by 354.2% during the 4th quarter. Mint Tower Capital Management B.V. now owns 12,708 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,201,000 after purchasing an additional 17,708 shares during the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its position in Discover Financial Services by 8.4% during the fourth quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 395,378 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $69,610,000 after purchasing an additional 30,624 shares during the period. Korea Investment CORP increased its holdings in shares of Discover Financial Services by 16.0% in the fourth quarter. Korea Investment CORP now owns 249,587 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $43,236,000 after purchasing an additional 34,381 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Banco BTG Pactual S.A. bought a new position in shares of Discover Financial Services in the fourth quarter valued at about $449,000. 86.94% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

DFS has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on shares of Discover Financial Services from $170.00 to $232.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. Barclays upped their target price on Discover Financial Services from $186.00 to $209.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. UBS Group upgraded Discover Financial Services from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $150.00 to $239.00 in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Truist Financial reduced their price target on Discover Financial Services from $262.00 to $219.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, March 21st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Discover Financial Services from $185.00 to $214.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Discover Financial Services presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $192.40.

Discover Financial Services Stock Down 2.6 %

Shares of NYSE DFS opened at $158.23 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $39.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.91, a PEG ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 1.45. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $184.39 and its 200 day moving average is $169.76. Discover Financial Services has a 52 week low of $119.31 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.

Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) last released its earnings results 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%. Sell-side analysts forecast 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 disclosed 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 is Friday, May 23rd. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.77%. Discover Financial Services’s dividend payout ratio is currently 17.54%.

Discover Financial Services 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.