USS Investment Management Ltd Cuts Stake in Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS)

USS Investment Management Ltd decreased its holdings in Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS - Free Report) by 18.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 57,517 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 12,971 shares during the period. USS Investment Management Ltd's holdings in Discover Financial Services were worth $9,977,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of DFS. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new position in Discover Financial Services during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Flagship Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Discover Financial Services during the 4th quarter valued at $34,000. Bfsg LLC purchased a new stake in Discover Financial Services during the 4th quarter valued at $35,000. Hantz Financial Services Inc. bought a new position in shares of Discover Financial Services during the 4th quarter valued at $37,000. Finally, Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. boosted its stake in shares of Discover Financial Services by 352.8% in the 4th quarter. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. now owns 240 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $42,000 after buying an additional 187 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.94% of the company's stock.

Discover Financial Services Price Performance

Shares of NYSE DFS traded down $2.73 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $197.76. The stock had a trading volume of 31,289,322 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,797,705. The company has a market capitalization of $49.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 1.16. Discover Financial Services has a 12-month low of $119.95 and a 12-month high of $207.42. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $176.85 and a 200-day moving average of $180.09. 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 - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The financial services provider reported $4.25 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.33 by $0.92. The company had revenue of $4.25 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.25 billion. Discover Financial Services had a net margin of 17.29% and a return on equity of 26.18%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.10 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Discover Financial Services will post 13.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently commented on DFS shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on Discover Financial Services from $169.00 to $129.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Truist Financial boosted their price target on Discover Financial Services from $219.00 to $229.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, April 25th. TD Securities lowered their price objective on shares of Discover Financial Services from $188.00 to $184.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Discover Financial Services from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. Finally, Argus raised shares of Discover Financial Services to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Friday, April 25th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $191.64.

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.