Aviva PLC Sells 48,894 Shares of Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS)

Aviva PLC cut its stake in Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) by 18.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 209,620 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 48,894 shares during the period. Aviva PLC’s holdings in Discover Financial Services were worth $36,312,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of Discover Financial Services in the 4th quarter valued at $33,000. Flagship Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Discover Financial Services in the fourth quarter valued at $34,000. Bfsg LLC bought a new stake in Discover Financial Services during the fourth quarter valued at $35,000. Grove Bank & Trust grew its holdings in Discover Financial Services by 78.1% during the 4th quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 203 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 89 shares during the period. Finally, Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Discover Financial Services in the 3rd quarter worth about $30,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.94% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently commented on DFS. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on Discover Financial Services from $170.00 to $232.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on shares of Discover Financial Services from $193.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. StockNews.com cut shares of Discover Financial Services from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company upped 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 report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, UBS Group upgraded Discover Financial Services from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the company from $150.00 to $239.00 in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Seven 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, Discover Financial Services currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $192.40.

Discover Financial Services Price Performance

DFS stock opened at $146.77 on Monday. 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 business has a 50-day simple moving average of $181.35 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $171.43. The company has a market capitalization of $36.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 1.20. Discover Financial Services has a 52-week low of $119.31 and a 52-week high of $205.76.

Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The financial services provider reported $5.11 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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%. Research analysts expect that Discover Financial Services will post 13.88 EPS 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 issued a dividend of $0.70 per share. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.91%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 23rd. Discover Financial Services’s dividend payout ratio is 17.54%.

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; 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.