Adams Diversified Equity Fund Inc. Invests $13.50 Million in Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS)

Adams Diversified Equity Fund Inc. bought a new position in shares of Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 77,900 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $13,495,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. TD Private Client Wealth LLC increased its stake in shares of Discover Financial Services by 1.6% during the fourth quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 27,658 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $4,791,000 after buying an additional 426 shares during the period. Whittier Trust Co. increased its stake in shares of Discover Financial Services by 51.3% during the fourth quarter. Whittier Trust Co. now owns 3,101 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $537,000 after buying an additional 1,051 shares during the period. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS increased its stake in shares of Discover Financial Services by 3.7% during the fourth quarter. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS now owns 102,445 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $17,747,000 after buying an additional 3,635 shares during the period. Teacher Retirement System of Texas increased its stake in shares of Discover Financial Services by 40.0% during the fourth quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 2,350 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $407,000 after buying an additional 672 shares during the period. Finally, Royal London Asset Management Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Discover Financial Services by 1.6% during the fourth quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. now owns 104,399 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $18,085,000 after buying an additional 1,690 shares during the period. 86.94% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Discover Financial Services Price Performance

Shares of DFS stock opened at $164.41 on Friday. Discover Financial Services has a fifty-two week low of $119.31 and a fifty-two week high of $205.76. The firm has a market capitalization of $41.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.30, a PEG ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 1.45. 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 stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $186.28 and its 200-day simple moving average is $168.46.

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, 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%. As a group, equities 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 announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 6th. Investors of record on Friday, May 23rd will be issued a dividend of $0.70 per share. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.70%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 23rd. Discover Financial Services’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 17.54%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the company. Truist Financial raised their price target on Discover Financial Services from $233.00 to $262.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on Discover Financial Services from $170.00 to $232.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on Discover Financial Services from $193.00 to $210.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Discover Financial Services from $146.00 to $169.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Barclays lifted their target price 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. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $191.91.

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.