Financial Engines Advisors L.L.C. Increases Stock Position in Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS)

Financial Engines Advisors L.L.C. increased its position in Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) by 63.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 4,592 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 1,774 shares during the quarter. Financial Engines Advisors L.L.C.’s holdings in Discover Financial Services were worth $795,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in DFS. C2P Capital Advisory Group LLC d.b.a. Prosperity Capital Advisors purchased a new position in shares of Discover Financial Services in the 4th quarter worth about $351,766,000. FMR LLC increased its position in Discover Financial Services by 8.0% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 7,493,862 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,051,314,000 after purchasing an additional 558,227 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings 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 valued at $5,377,961,000 after buying an additional 290,937 shares during the period. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC acquired a new position in Discover Financial Services during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $39,067,000. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in Discover Financial Services during the fourth quarter worth approximately $38,489,000. 86.94% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Discover Financial Services Stock Performance

Shares of DFS opened at $162.91 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $184.97 and a 200-day moving average of $169.58. The company has a market cap of $40.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 1.45. 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 $119.31 and a 1 year high of $205.76.

Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The financial services provider reported $5.11 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.13 by $1.98. Discover Financial Services had a net margin of 17.29% and a return on equity of 26.18%. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Discover Financial Services will post 13.88 earnings per share 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. Investors of record on Friday, May 23rd will be given a $0.70 dividend. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.72%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 23rd. Discover Financial Services’s dividend payout ratio is currently 17.54%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Truist Financial cut their target price on shares of Discover Financial Services from $262.00 to $219.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, March 21st. UBS Group raised Discover Financial Services from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $150.00 to $239.00 in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Discover Financial Services from $185.00 to $214.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on Discover Financial Services from $170.00 to $232.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Finally, Barclays upped their target price on shares of Discover Financial Services from $186.00 to $209.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note 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, Discover Financial Services presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $192.40.

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; 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.