Royal London Asset Management Ltd. Buys 1,690 Shares of Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS)

Royal London Asset Management Ltd. grew its stake in Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) by 1.6% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 104,399 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,690 shares during the period. Royal London Asset Management Ltd.’s holdings in Discover Financial Services were worth $18,085,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of DFS. C2P Capital Advisory Group LLC d.b.a. Prosperity Capital Advisors bought a new position in shares of Discover Financial Services in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $351,766,000. FMR LLC lifted its holdings in Discover Financial Services by 8.0% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 7,493,862 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,051,314,000 after acquiring an additional 558,227 shares during the period. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC bought a new stake in Discover Financial Services during the fourth quarter worth $39,067,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in Discover Financial Services during the fourth quarter worth $38,489,000. Finally, Proficio Capital Partners LLC bought a new stake in Discover Financial Services during the fourth quarter worth $36,219,000. Institutional investors own 86.94% of the company’s stock.

Discover Financial Services Price Performance

Shares of NYSE DFS opened at $164.90 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $41.49 billion, a PE ratio of 10.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 1.45. Discover Financial Services has a fifty-two week low of $119.31 and a fifty-two week 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. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $186.18 and a 200-day moving average of $168.64.

Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The financial services provider reported $5.11 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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%. Equities research analysts anticipate that Discover Financial Services will post 13.88 earnings per share for the current year.

Discover Financial Services Dividend Announcement

The business 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.70%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 23rd. Discover Financial Services’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 17.54%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently commented on DFS. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on Discover Financial Services from $170.00 to $232.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Discover Financial Services from $146.00 to $169.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Barclays lifted their price target on Discover Financial Services from $186.00 to $209.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. UBS Group upgraded Discover Financial Services from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $150.00 to $239.00 in a report on Monday, January 13th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on Discover Financial Services from $193.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Discover Financial Services has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $192.40.

Discover Financial Services Company 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.