Marshall Wace LLP Increases Stock Holdings in Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS)

Marshall Wace LLP raised its stake in shares of Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) by 21.2% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 289,264 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 50,666 shares during the quarter. Marshall Wace LLP’s holdings in Discover Financial Services were worth $50,109,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in Discover Financial Services in the fourth quarter worth about $38,489,000. Brookstone Capital Management bought a new position in shares of Discover Financial Services in the 4th quarter worth approximately $282,000. Meyer Handelman Co. purchased a new position in shares of Discover Financial Services in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $239,000. Mechanics Bank Trust Department bought a new stake in shares of Discover Financial Services during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $234,000. Finally, JBGlobal.com LLC purchased a new stake in Discover Financial Services in the fourth quarter worth $346,000. 86.94% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have commented on the company. StockNews.com cut shares of Discover Financial Services from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday. UBS Group upgraded shares of Discover Financial Services from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $150.00 to $239.00 in a report on Monday, January 13th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Discover Financial Services from $185.00 to $214.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Barclays raised 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, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of Discover Financial Services from $169.00 to $129.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $188.40.

Discover Financial Services Trading Up 2.3 %

Discover Financial Services stock opened at $159.91 on Friday. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $172.12 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $172.18. Discover Financial Services has a 52-week low of $119.95 and a 52-week high of $205.76. The company has a quick ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09. The company has a market cap of $40.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.02, a P/E/G ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 1.20.

Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The financial services provider reported $5.11 EPS 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%. Analysts predict that Discover Financial Services will post 13.88 EPS for the current year.

Discover Financial Services Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 6th. Shareholders 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 yield of 1.75%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 23rd. Discover Financial Services’s payout ratio is 17.54%.

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.