Phoenix Financial Ltd. Acquires Shares of 18,896 Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS)

Phoenix Financial Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 18,896 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $3,273,000.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC lifted its position in Discover Financial Services by 17.1% during the 3rd quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC now owns 10,080 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,414,000 after purchasing an additional 1,469 shares during the period. M&T Bank Corp lifted its holdings in Discover Financial Services by 3.2% in the third quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 24,212 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,397,000 after buying an additional 760 shares during the period. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in Discover Financial Services by 7.1% in the third quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. now owns 6,041 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $860,000 after acquiring an additional 402 shares during the last quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank grew its holdings in Discover Financial Services by 1.4% during the 3rd quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 126,013 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $17,678,000 after acquiring an additional 1,778 shares during the period. Finally, TD Private Client Wealth LLC raised its position in shares of Discover Financial Services by 28.1% during the 3rd quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 27,232 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,820,000 after acquiring an additional 5,970 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.94% of the company’s stock.

Discover Financial Services Stock Performance

Shares of Discover Financial Services stock opened at $158.01 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09, a current ratio of 1.09 and a quick ratio of 1.03. The firm has a market cap of $39.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 1.20. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $176.23 and its 200-day moving average is $171.71. Discover Financial Services has a one year low of $119.31 and a one year high of $205.76.

Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The financial services provider reported $5.11 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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%. Equities analysts predict that Discover Financial Services will post 13.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Discover Financial Services Announces Dividend

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 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 (DPR) is currently 17.54%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

DFS has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Truist Financial decreased their price objective on Discover Financial Services from $262.00 to $219.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, March 21st. UBS Group raised Discover Financial Services from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the company from $150.00 to $239.00 in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Discover Financial Services from $186.00 to $209.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Discover Financial Services from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Discover Financial Services from $185.00 to $214.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $188.40.

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.