Versor Investments LP Has $9.21 Million Stake in Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS)

Versor Investments LP cut its position in Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) by 30.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 53,169 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 22,794 shares during the period. Discover Financial Services comprises about 1.6% of Versor Investments LP’s portfolio, making the stock its 3rd largest position. Versor Investments LP’s holdings in Discover Financial Services were worth $9,210,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in DFS. Private Advisor Group LLC grew its position in Discover Financial Services by 2.0% in the third quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 13,181 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,849,000 after purchasing an additional 255 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Discover Financial Services in the third quarter valued at about $21,169,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its holdings in Discover Financial Services by 2.6% during the third quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 26,674 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,742,000 after acquiring an additional 685 shares in the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP raised its holdings in Discover Financial Services by 22.6% during the third quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 4,808 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $675,000 after acquiring an additional 886 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. grew its stake in Discover Financial Services by 23.3% in the third quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 20,867 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,906,000 after purchasing an additional 3,949 shares in the last quarter. 86.94% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Discover Financial Services Trading Up 1.4 %

DFS opened at $190.36 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $47.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.93, a PEG ratio of 1.51 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 company’s 50 day moving average is $187.93 and its 200-day moving average is $164.56. Discover Financial Services has a 1-year low of $118.74 and a 1-year high of $205.76.

Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 22nd. The financial services provider reported $5.11 EPS for the quarter, beating 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%. Equities research analysts predict 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 disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 6th. Investors of record on Friday, May 23rd will be issued a dividend of $0.70 per share. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.47%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 23rd. Discover Financial Services’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 17.54%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

DFS has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada lifted 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 report on Friday, January 24th. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on shares of Discover Financial Services from $156.00 to $163.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Discover Financial Services from $186.00 to $209.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective 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 lowered Discover Financial Services from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $191.91.

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.