Amundi Cuts Stock Holdings in Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS)

Amundi lowered its position in Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) by 29.7% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 731,414 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 308,769 shares during the quarter. Amundi’s holdings in Discover Financial Services were worth $128,634,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. acquired a new stake in Discover Financial Services in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $30,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in Discover Financial Services during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Grove Bank & Trust lifted its stake in Discover Financial Services by 78.1% during the 4th quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 203 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 89 shares during the period. Bfsg LLC acquired a new stake in Discover Financial Services during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Finally, Hantz Financial Services Inc. acquired a new stake in Discover Financial Services during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.94% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have commented on DFS shares. UBS Group upgraded shares of Discover Financial Services from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $150.00 to $239.00 in a research note on Monday, January 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Discover Financial Services from $146.00 to $169.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Truist Financial lifted their price objective on shares of Discover Financial Services from $233.00 to $262.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Barclays lifted their price objective 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. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on shares of Discover Financial Services from $170.00 to $232.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. Nine research 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 Price Performance

Shares of NYSE DFS opened at $156.76 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $39.44 billion, a PE ratio of 9.82, a PEG ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 1.45. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $188.72 and a 200 day moving average of $167.51. 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 one year low of $119.31 and a one year high of $205.76.

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

Discover Financial Services Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 6th. Investors of record on Friday, May 23rd will be issued a $0.70 dividend. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.79%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 23rd. Discover Financial Services’s payout ratio is presently 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.