AIA Group Ltd Takes Position in Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS)

AIA Group Ltd acquired a new stake in Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 2,850 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $320,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Flputnam Investment Management Co. raised its holdings in shares of Discover Financial Services by 7.9% during the 3rd quarter. Flputnam Investment Management Co. now owns 2,646 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $229,000 after buying an additional 193 shares during the period. DAVENPORT & Co LLC raised its holdings in shares of Discover Financial Services by 335.4% during the 4th quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC now owns 63,796 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $7,171,000 after buying an additional 49,145 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its holdings in shares of Discover Financial Services by 1.8% during the 4th quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 916,367 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $103,000,000 after buying an additional 16,532 shares during the period. Vest Financial LLC raised its holdings in shares of Discover Financial Services by 18.8% during the 4th quarter. Vest Financial LLC now owns 121,753 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $13,685,000 after buying an additional 19,283 shares during the period. Finally, Raymond James & Associates raised its holdings in shares of Discover Financial Services by 27.1% during the 4th quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 339,717 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $38,184,000 after buying an additional 72,452 shares during the period. 86.94% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Discover Financial Services from $105.00 to $135.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. Seaport Res Ptn downgraded Discover Financial Services from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, March 15th. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on Discover Financial Services from $117.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a report on Thursday, February 22nd. StockNews.com began coverage on Discover Financial Services in a report on Thursday. They set a “hold” rating on the stock. Finally, HSBC lifted their target price on Discover Financial Services from $107.00 to $144.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 21st. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $125.94.

Discover Financial Services Trading Up 0.9 %

Shares of Discover Financial Services stock opened at $125.35 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.13, a current ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.49. The firm has a market cap of $31.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.88 and a beta of 1.45. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $122.02 and a 200-day simple moving average of $105.90. Discover Financial Services has a fifty-two week low of $79.04 and a fifty-two week high of $131.65.

Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 18th. The financial services provider reported $1.10 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.98 by ($1.88). Discover Financial Services had a net margin of 10.56% and a return on equity of 16.74%. The company had revenue of $4.21 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.07 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $3.58 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Discover Financial Services will post 11.23 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Discover Financial Services Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 6th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 23rd will be issued a dividend of $0.70 per share. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.23%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 22nd. Discover Financial Services’s dividend payout ratio is 31.93%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO John Greene sold 35,191 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $106.51, for a total transaction of $3,748,193.41. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 18,592 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,980,233.92. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.69% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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; 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.