Boston Partners Grows Position in Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS)

Boston Partners raised its holdings in Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS - Free Report) by 5.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 9,072,829 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 475,579 shares during the quarter. Discover Financial Services accounts for 1.3% of Boston Partners' investment portfolio, making the stock its 3rd largest holding. Boston Partners owned about 3.63% of Discover Financial Services worth $1,017,046,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of DFS. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC acquired a new position in shares of Discover Financial Services during the fourth quarter worth approximately $28,000. MeadowBrook Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Discover Financial Services during the fourth quarter valued at about $31,000. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Discover Financial Services in the 4th quarter worth about $35,000. First Command Advisory Services Inc. bought a new position in Discover Financial Services in the 3rd quarter valued at about $39,000. Finally, Larson Financial Group LLC boosted its stake in Discover Financial Services by 105.8% during the 3rd quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 465 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 239 shares during the last quarter. 86.94% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on Discover Financial Services from $137.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, April 19th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their price target on shares of Discover Financial Services from $140.00 to $111.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Discover Financial Services from $110.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. StockNews.com began coverage on Discover Financial Services in a research report on Sunday. They set a "hold" rating for the company. Finally, HSBC upped their price objective on Discover Financial Services from $107.00 to $144.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 21st. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Discover Financial Services currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $126.29.

Discover Financial Services Price Performance

DFS stock traded down $0.64 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $123.40. 979,142 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,289,724. Discover Financial Services has a 52-week low of $79.04 and a 52-week high of $131.65. The company has a market capitalization of $30.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.07, a P/E/G ratio of 0.73 and a beta of 1.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.50, a current ratio of 1.12 and a quick ratio of 1.12. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $124.62 and a 200-day moving average price of $109.98.

Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 18th. The financial services provider reported $1.10 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.98 by ($1.88). Discover Financial Services had a net margin of 10.56% and a return on equity of 17.07%. The firm had revenue of $4.21 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.07 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $3.58 earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that Discover Financial Services will post 11.48 earnings per share for the current year.

Discover Financial Services Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 6th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 23rd will be paid a $0.70 dividend. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.27%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 22nd. Discover Financial Services's dividend payout ratio is currently 31.93%.

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; private student loans, 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.