Whittier Trust Co. Has $537,000 Position in Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS)

Whittier Trust Co. raised its stake in Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) by 51.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 3,101 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 1,051 shares during the quarter. Whittier Trust Co.’s holdings in Discover Financial Services were worth $537,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS raised its holdings in shares of Discover Financial Services by 3.7% during the fourth quarter. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS now owns 102,445 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $17,747,000 after acquiring an additional 3,635 shares in the last quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas raised its stake in shares of Discover Financial Services by 40.0% during the 4th quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 2,350 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $407,000 after purchasing an additional 672 shares in the last quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Discover Financial Services by 1.6% during the 4th quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. now owns 104,399 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $18,085,000 after purchasing an additional 1,690 shares in the last quarter. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd lifted its holdings in shares of Discover Financial Services by 186.7% during the 4th quarter. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd now owns 3,116 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $540,000 after buying an additional 2,029 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vinva Investment Management Ltd grew its stake in shares of Discover Financial Services by 8.2% in the 4th quarter. Vinva Investment Management Ltd now owns 12,117 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,089,000 after buying an additional 921 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.94% of the company’s stock.

Discover Financial Services Stock Performance

DFS opened at $164.90 on Friday. 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 stock’s 50 day moving average price is $186.18 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $168.86. The firm has a market capitalization of $41.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 1.45. Discover Financial Services has a 12-month low of $119.31 and a 12-month 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 (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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%. On average, equities analysts forecast that Discover Financial Services will post 13.88 earnings per share for the current year.

Discover Financial Services Announces Dividend

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 issued a dividend of $0.70 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 23rd. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.70%. Discover Financial Services’s payout ratio is 17.54%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have issued reports on the stock. UBS Group upgraded shares of Discover Financial Services from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $150.00 to $239.00 in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Discover Financial Services from $185.00 to $214.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Discover Financial Services from $146.00 to $169.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Truist Financial reduced their price target on Discover Financial Services from $262.00 to $219.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday. Finally, StockNews.com lowered Discover Financial Services from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given 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 $192.40.

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.