R Squared Ltd Invests $132,000 in Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS)

R Squared Ltd bought a new stake in Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 760 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $132,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in DFS. AXA S.A. lifted its stake in Discover Financial Services by 141.5% during the 2nd quarter. AXA S.A. now owns 6,064 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $793,000 after acquiring an additional 3,553 shares in the last quarter. Creative Planning lifted its position in shares of Discover Financial Services by 1.4% during the second quarter. Creative Planning now owns 63,959 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $8,366,000 after purchasing an additional 906 shares in the last quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Discover Financial Services by 3.6% in the second quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 5,510 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $721,000 after purchasing an additional 189 shares during the period. 3Chopt Investment Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Discover Financial Services in the second quarter worth $476,000. Finally, Cetera Investment Advisers grew its stake in Discover Financial Services by 0.8% during the 2nd quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 69,539 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $9,097,000 after purchasing an additional 549 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.94% of the company’s stock.

Discover Financial Services Stock Up 0.8 %

Shares of Discover Financial Services stock opened at $201.13 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $50.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.60, a PEG ratio of 1.15 and a beta of 1.46. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $179.90 and a two-hundred day moving average of $155.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a current ratio of 1.10. Discover Financial Services has a one year low of $104.08 and a one year high of $204.93.

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 return on equity of 27.52% and a net margin of 17.29%. On average, analysts forecast that Discover Financial Services will post 12.82 earnings per share for the current year.

Discover Financial Services Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.39%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 23rd. Discover Financial Services’s payout ratio is 17.54%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

DFS has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased 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. StockNews.com cut Discover Financial Services from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Discover Financial Services from $146.00 to $169.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on shares of Discover Financial Services from $156.00 to $163.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Truist Financial increased their target price on shares of Discover Financial Services from $233.00 to $262.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $182.64.

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.