2,866,541 Shares in Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) Bought by Norges Bank

Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 2,866,541 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $322,199,000. Norges Bank owned approximately 1.15% of Discover Financial Services at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. M&T Bank Corp raised its holdings in shares of Discover Financial Services by 4.7% in the third quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 31,716 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $2,747,000 after purchasing an additional 1,434 shares during the last quarter. FDx Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Discover Financial Services by 29.7% in the third quarter. FDx Advisors Inc. now owns 2,348 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $203,000 after purchasing an additional 538 shares during the last quarter. Duality Advisers LP purchased a new stake in shares of Discover Financial Services in the third quarter valued at about $484,000. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Discover Financial Services by 23.9% in the third quarter. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 6,380 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $553,000 after purchasing an additional 1,230 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dai ichi Life Insurance Company Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Discover Financial Services in the third quarter valued at about $202,000. 86.94% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently commented on the stock. Seaport Res Ptn downgraded shares of Discover Financial Services from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, March 15th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on shares of Discover Financial Services from $137.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, April 19th. Wolfe Research restated a "peer perform" rating on shares of Discover Financial Services in a report on Wednesday, February 21st. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price objective on shares of Discover Financial Services from $116.00 to $104.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 22nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Discover Financial Services from $110.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned 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 target price of $126.29.

Discover Financial Services Price Performance

Shares of DFS stock traded up $0.67 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $125.28. The stock had a trading volume of 1,033,391 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,022,036. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $125.11 and its 200 day simple moving average is $112.00. 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 12 month low of $79.04 and a 12 month high of $131.65. The firm has a market capitalization of $31.40 billion, a PE ratio of 14.29, a PEG ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 1.43.

Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 18th. The financial services provider reported $1.10 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates 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 quarter last year, the business posted $3.58 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that Discover Financial Services will post 11.48 EPS for the current year.

Discover Financial Services Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 6th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 23rd will be given a dividend of $0.70 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 22nd. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.23%. Discover Financial Services's payout ratio 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.