Bronte Capital Management Pty Ltd. Sells 24,813 Shares of Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS)

Bronte Capital Management Pty Ltd. lowered its stake in shares of Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) by 7.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 302,397 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 24,813 shares during the period. Discover Financial Services accounts for about 0.0% of Bronte Capital Management Pty Ltd.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 17th largest position. Bronte Capital Management Pty Ltd. owned about 0.12% of Discover Financial Services worth $52,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. bought a new position in Discover Financial Services during the third quarter valued at $30,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Discover Financial Services during the fourth quarter valued at $33,000. Grove Bank & Trust boosted its stake in shares of Discover Financial Services by 78.1% during the fourth quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 203 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 89 shares during the period. Bfsg LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Discover Financial Services during the fourth quarter valued at $35,000. Finally, Hantz Financial Services Inc. purchased a new stake in Discover Financial Services in the fourth quarter worth about $37,000. Institutional investors own 86.94% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Discover Financial Services from $186.00 to $209.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target 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. Truist Financial upped their price objective on Discover Financial Services from $233.00 to $262.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. StockNews.com lowered Discover Financial Services from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price 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. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Discover Financial Services presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $191.91.

Discover Financial Services Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:DFS opened at $157.89 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09, a current ratio of 1.09 and a quick ratio of 1.03. Discover Financial Services has a 12 month low of $119.31 and a 12 month high of $205.76. The firm has a market capitalization of $39.73 billion, a PE ratio of 9.89, a P/E/G ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 1.45. The business has a 50-day moving average of $188.41 and a two-hundred day moving average of $167.69.

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 return on equity of 26.18% and a net margin of 17.29%. As a group, research analysts forecast that Discover Financial Services will post 13.88 earnings per share for the current year.

Discover Financial Services Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 6th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 23rd will be issued a dividend of $0.70 per share. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.77%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 23rd. Discover Financial Services’s dividend payout ratio is presently 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.