Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) Shares Acquired by Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd.

Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS - Free Report) by 4.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 250,323 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 10,858 shares during the period. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. owned 0.10% of Discover Financial Services worth $27,721,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of DFS. M&G Investment Management Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Discover Financial Services by 16.4% in the 4th quarter. M&G Investment Management Ltd. now owns 452,032 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $50,628,000 after acquiring an additional 63,829 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA acquired a new stake in Discover Financial Services in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $121,113,000. Partnership Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Discover Financial Services during the 4th quarter worth $25,000. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC acquired a new position in shares of Discover Financial Services during the fourth quarter valued at about $279,000. Finally, Boston Partners raised its holdings in shares of Discover Financial Services by 5.5% in the fourth quarter. Boston Partners now owns 9,072,829 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,017,046,000 after buying an additional 475,579 shares during the last quarter. 86.94% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

DFS has been the topic of several analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada restated a "sector perform" rating and set a $140.00 price target (up previously from $117.00) on shares of Discover Financial Services in a research report on Wednesday, February 21st. Wolfe Research restated a "peer perform" rating on shares of Discover Financial Services in a report on Wednesday, February 21st. Citigroup increased their target price on shares of Discover Financial Services from $127.00 to $168.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, February 23rd. Seaport Res Ptn downgraded shares of Discover Financial Services from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, March 15th. Finally, HSBC increased their price objective on shares of Discover Financial Services from $107.00 to $144.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 21st. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $126.29.

Discover Financial Services Stock Performance

Shares of DFS traded down $1.92 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $124.81. 1,708,059 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,056,250. The company has a current ratio of 1.12, a quick ratio of 1.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.50. Discover Financial Services has a fifty-two week low of $79.04 and a fifty-two week high of $131.65. The business's 50 day moving average is $124.91 and its two-hundred day moving average is $110.91. The firm has a market capitalization of $31.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.49, a P/E/G ratio of 0.74 and a beta of 1.43.

Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 18th. The financial services provider reported $1.10 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $2.98 by ($1.88). Discover Financial Services had a return on equity of 17.07% and a net margin of 10.56%. The company had revenue of $4.21 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.07 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $3.58 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that Discover Financial Services will post 11.48 earnings per share for the current year.

Discover Financial Services Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 6th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 23rd will be paid a dividend of $0.70 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 22nd. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.24%. Discover Financial Services's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 31.93%.

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; 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.