Third Point LLC Takes $110.87 Million Position in Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS)

Third Point LLC bought a new position in shares of Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 640,000 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $110,867,000. Discover Financial Services comprises about 1.5% of Third Point LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 27th largest holding. Third Point LLC owned approximately 0.25% of Discover Financial Services at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Hemington Wealth Management raised its stake in Discover Financial Services by 11.0% in the 4th quarter. Hemington Wealth Management now owns 503 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $87,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. Rehmann Capital Advisory Group raised its stake in shares of Discover Financial Services by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Rehmann Capital Advisory Group now owns 5,152 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $892,000 after purchasing an additional 51 shares during the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its holdings in shares of Discover Financial Services by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 9,248 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,602,000 after purchasing an additional 56 shares during the period. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. boosted its position in Discover Financial Services by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. now owns 6,158 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,067,000 after buying an additional 57 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. increased its holdings in Discover Financial Services by 4.2% in the 4th quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 1,411 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $244,000 after buying an additional 57 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.94% of the company's stock.

Discover Financial Services Price Performance

Shares of DFS traded up $0.04 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $190.35. 1,655,813 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,624,080. 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 has a 1-year low of $119.95 and a 1-year high of $205.76. The stock has a market cap of $47.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 1.20. The company has a 50 day moving average of $168.82 and a 200-day moving average of $175.37.

Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The financial services provider reported $4.25 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.33 by $0.92. Discover Financial Services had a return on equity of 26.18% and a net margin of 17.29%. The business had revenue of $4.25 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.25 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.10 earnings per share. Analysts expect that Discover Financial Services will post 13.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently commented on DFS. Argus raised shares of Discover Financial Services to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Friday, April 25th. Truist Financial increased their price target on Discover Financial Services from $219.00 to $229.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, April 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on Discover Financial Services from $169.00 to $129.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Discover Financial Services from $185.00 to $214.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Barclays upped their price objective on Discover Financial Services from $186.00 to $209.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $188.91.

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; 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.