Handelsbanken Fonder AB Raises Holdings in Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS)

Handelsbanken Fonder AB lifted its holdings in shares of Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) by 62.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 120,079 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 46,234 shares during the period. Handelsbanken Fonder AB’s holdings in Discover Financial Services were worth $20,801,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of DFS. Blue Trust Inc. increased its stake in shares of Discover Financial Services by 115.7% during the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,234 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $161,000 after purchasing an additional 662 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James & Associates grew its stake in Discover Financial Services by 12.7% in the 3rd quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 149,361 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $20,954,000 after acquiring an additional 16,863 shares during the period. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC grew its stake in Discover Financial Services by 16.3% in the 3rd quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC now owns 2,046 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $287,000 after acquiring an additional 286 shares during the period. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC grew its stake in Discover Financial Services by 4.4% in the 3rd quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 6,191 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $869,000 after acquiring an additional 263 shares during the period. Finally, Eastern Bank purchased a new stake in Discover Financial Services in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $138,000. 86.94% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have commented on DFS shares. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on shares of Discover Financial Services from $156.00 to $163.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. UBS Group raised shares of Discover Financial Services from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $150.00 to $239.00 in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on shares of Discover Financial Services from $170.00 to $232.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Barclays lifted their price target 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. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Discover Financial Services from $146.00 to $169.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $186.46.

Discover Financial Services Stock Performance

NYSE:DFS opened at $194.21 on Friday. Discover Financial Services has a twelve month low of $118.74 and a twelve month high of $205.76. The firm has a market capitalization of $48.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.17, a PEG ratio of 1.53 and a beta of 1.46. The company has a current ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $186.87 and its 200 day simple moving average is $162.92.

Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) last issued 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 research analysts expect that Discover Financial Services will post 13.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Discover Financial Services Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 6th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 23rd will be given a $0.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 23rd. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.44%. Discover Financial Services’s payout ratio is 17.54%.

About Discover Financial Services

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.