KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS Buys New Position in Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS)

KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS purchased a new position in Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm purchased 161,126 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $27,912,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of DFS. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Discover Financial Services in the 4th quarter worth approximately $38,489,000. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Discover Financial Services by 10.5% in the third quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 115,487 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $16,202,000 after buying an additional 10,946 shares in the last quarter. Brookstone Capital Management bought a new position in shares of Discover Financial Services in the fourth quarter valued at $282,000. Meyer Handelman Co. acquired a new stake in shares of Discover Financial Services during the 4th quarter valued at $239,000. Finally, Mechanics Bank Trust Department bought a new stake in shares of Discover Financial Services during the 4th quarter worth $234,000. 86.94% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

DFS has been the subject of several analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on Discover Financial Services from $170.00 to $232.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on shares of Discover Financial Services from $193.00 to $210.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Discover Financial Services from $185.00 to $214.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” 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 Friday, January 24th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Discover Financial Services from $146.00 to $169.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $192.40.

Discover Financial Services Stock Up 0.3 %

Discover Financial Services stock opened at $164.90 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $186.18 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $168.86. The firm has a market cap of $41.49 billion, a PE ratio of 10.33, a P/E/G ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 1.45. Discover Financial Services has a twelve month low of $119.31 and a twelve month high of $205.76. 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 (NYSE:DFS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 22nd. The financial services provider reported $5.11 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.13 by $1.98. Discover Financial Services had a return on equity of 26.18% and a net margin of 17.29%. On average, research analysts predict that Discover Financial Services will post 13.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Discover Financial Services Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared 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. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.70%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 23rd. Discover Financial Services’s dividend payout ratio is 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.