Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) Stake Raised by Guggenheim Capital LLC

Guggenheim Capital LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) by 25.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 18,326 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 3,667 shares during the period. Guggenheim Capital LLC’s holdings in Discover Financial Services were worth $3,175,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Discover Financial Services during the 4th quarter worth about $724,720,000. C2P Capital Advisory Group LLC d.b.a. Prosperity Capital Advisors acquired a new position in shares of Discover Financial Services during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $351,766,000. Invesco Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Discover Financial Services by 38.5% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,974,471 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $515,268,000 after acquiring an additional 826,287 shares during the period. Bank of Nova Scotia raised its holdings in Discover Financial Services by 208.9% during the fourth quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 561,405 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $97,252,000 after purchasing an additional 379,673 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in Discover Financial Services by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 31,045,208 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $5,377,961,000 after purchasing an additional 290,937 shares during the period. 86.94% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. 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. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Discover Financial Services from $186.00 to $209.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Truist Financial reduced their price objective on shares of Discover Financial Services from $262.00 to $219.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, March 21st. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Discover Financial Services from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on shares of Discover Financial Services from $193.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $188.40.

Discover Financial Services Trading Up 2.3 %

Discover Financial Services stock opened at $159.91 on Friday. Discover Financial Services has a 52 week low of $119.95 and a 52 week high of $205.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a current ratio of 1.09. The firm has a market capitalization of $40.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.02, a P/E/G ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 1.20. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $171.42 and a 200 day moving average price of $172.58.

Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The financial services provider reported $5.11 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.13 by $1.98. Discover Financial Services had a return on equity of 26.18% and a net margin of 17.29%. Research analysts forecast that Discover Financial Services will post 13.88 EPS for the current year.

Discover Financial Services Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 6th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 23rd will be issued a $0.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 23rd. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.75%. Discover Financial Services’s dividend payout ratio is 17.54%.

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.