Equity Investment Corp Invests $235,000 in Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS)

Equity Investment Corp purchased a new stake in shares of Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 1,354 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $235,000.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Private Advisor Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Discover Financial Services by 2.0% during the 3rd quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 13,181 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,849,000 after acquiring an additional 255 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Discover Financial Services in the third quarter worth $21,169,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its stake in Discover Financial Services by 2.6% in the third quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 26,674 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,742,000 after purchasing an additional 685 shares during the period. Allworth Financial LP raised its holdings in Discover Financial Services by 22.6% in the third quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 4,808 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $675,000 after purchasing an additional 886 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. lifted its position in Discover Financial Services by 23.3% during the third quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 20,867 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,906,000 after buying an additional 3,949 shares during the period. 86.94% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Discover Financial Services Stock Up 1.4 %

Discover Financial Services stock opened at $190.36 on Thursday. Discover Financial Services has a 12 month low of $118.74 and a 12 month high of $205.76. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $187.93 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $164.56. 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 firm has a market cap of $47.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.93, a PEG ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 1.46.

Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 26.18% and a net margin of 17.29%. Equities analysts predict that Discover Financial Services will post 13.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Discover Financial Services Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 6th. Investors 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.47%. Discover Financial Services’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 17.54%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on DFS. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Discover Financial Services from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. UBS Group upgraded shares of Discover Financial Services from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $150.00 to $239.00 in a report on Monday, January 13th. Truist Financial raised their target price on shares of Discover Financial Services from $233.00 to $262.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Barclays boosted their price target on Discover Financial Services from $186.00 to $209.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Discover Financial Services from $146.00 to $169.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $191.91.

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.