Norges Bank Makes New Investment in Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS)

Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 4,183,572 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $724,720,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of DFS. Hemington Wealth Management grew its stake in Discover Financial Services by 11.0% during the fourth quarter. Hemington Wealth Management now owns 503 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $87,000 after buying an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. increased its stake in Discover Financial Services by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 9,248 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,602,000 after purchasing an additional 56 shares in the last quarter. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. raised its holdings in Discover Financial Services by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. now owns 6,158 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,067,000 after buying an additional 57 shares during the last quarter. Invst LLC increased its stake in Discover Financial Services by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter. Invst LLC now owns 7,253 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,018,000 after buying an additional 62 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CTC Alternative Strategies Ltd. boosted its stake in Discover Financial Services by 3.2% in the third quarter. CTC Alternative Strategies Ltd. now owns 2,047 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $287,000 after acquiring an additional 63 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.94% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Truist Financial reduced 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 research note on Friday, March 21st. Barclays upped their target price on Discover Financial Services from $186.00 to $209.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. UBS Group upgraded shares of Discover Financial Services from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $150.00 to $239.00 in a research note on Monday, January 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Discover Financial Services from $146.00 to $169.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Discover Financial Services from $185.00 to $214.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Discover Financial Services currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $192.40.

Discover Financial Services Price Performance

Shares of Discover Financial Services stock opened at $162.91 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $40.99 billion, a PE ratio of 10.21, a PEG ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 1.45. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $184.97 and a 200 day moving average of $169.58. The company has a current ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09. Discover Financial Services has a 12 month low of $119.31 and a 12 month high of $205.76.

Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The financial services provider reported $5.11 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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%. On average, research analysts expect that Discover Financial Services will post 13.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Discover Financial Services Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 6th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 23rd will be issued a $0.70 dividend. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.72%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 23rd. Discover Financial Services’s payout ratio is presently 17.54%.

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.