Conning Inc. Reduces Position in Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS)

Conning Inc. decreased its holdings in Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) by 44.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,305 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 1,042 shares during the period. Conning Inc.’s holdings in Discover Financial Services were worth $226,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of DFS. National Pension Service increased its holdings in shares of Discover Financial Services by 14.8% in the third quarter. National Pension Service now owns 439,756 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $61,693,000 after purchasing an additional 56,814 shares during the last quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its holdings in Discover Financial Services by 10.5% in the 3rd 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 acquired a new stake in shares of Discover Financial Services in the 4th quarter worth $282,000. Meyer Handelman Co. purchased a new position in shares of Discover Financial Services during the 4th quarter worth $239,000. Finally, Janney Montgomery Scott LLC acquired a new position in shares of Discover Financial Services during the 3rd quarter valued at about $2,415,000. 86.94% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently issued reports on DFS. Truist Financial raised their price objective on shares of Discover Financial Services from $233.00 to $262.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Discover Financial Services from $146.00 to $169.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on Discover Financial Services from $170.00 to $232.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Discover Financial Services from $185.00 to $214.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Discover Financial Services from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Discover Financial Services presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $186.46.

Discover Financial Services Stock Performance

NYSE DFS opened at $199.73 on Monday. 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 company has a market cap of $50.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.51, a P/E/G ratio of 0.63 and a beta of 1.46. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $183.23 and a two-hundred day moving average of $159.09. Discover Financial Services has a 1-year low of $106.65 and a 1-year high of $205.76.

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 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, analysts anticipate that Discover Financial Services will post 13.57 EPS for the current year.

Discover Financial Services Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 6th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 23rd will be paid a $0.70 dividend. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.40%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 23rd. Discover Financial Services’s payout ratio is currently 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.