Boussard & Gavaudan Investment Management LLP Cuts Stock Holdings in Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS)

Boussard & Gavaudan Investment Management LLP reduced its stake in Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) by 9.8% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 82,824 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 9,047 shares during the period. Discover Financial Services comprises about 1.2% of Boussard & Gavaudan Investment Management LLP’s portfolio, making the stock its 29th biggest holding. Boussard & Gavaudan Investment Management LLP’s holdings in Discover Financial Services were worth $14,282,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in Discover Financial Services by 7.7% in the third quarter. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,664 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $233,000 after acquiring an additional 119 shares during the last quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC lifted its position in Discover Financial Services by 53.8% in the 3rd quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 386 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $54,000 after buying an additional 135 shares during the last quarter. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd purchased a new stake in Discover Financial Services in the third quarter worth approximately $587,000. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. grew its position in Discover Financial Services by 8.1% during the third quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 1,354 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $190,000 after acquiring an additional 102 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Private Trust Co. NA raised its stake in shares of Discover Financial Services by 73.8% during the third quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 1,373 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $193,000 after acquiring an additional 583 shares in the last quarter. 86.94% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently commented on the stock. StockNews.com lowered shares of Discover Financial Services from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on Discover Financial Services from $170.00 to $232.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th. UBS Group upgraded Discover Financial Services from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $150.00 to $239.00 in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Truist Financial lowered their price objective on Discover Financial Services from $262.00 to $219.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, March 21st. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on shares of Discover Financial Services from $193.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $192.40.

Discover Financial Services Trading Down 1.9 %

DFS opened at $162.91 on Friday. The business has a 50 day moving average of $184.97 and a 200-day moving average of $169.58. The stock has a market cap of $40.99 billion, a PE ratio of 10.21, a PEG ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 1.45. The company has a quick ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09. Discover Financial Services has a 52 week low of $119.31 and a 52 week high of $205.76.

Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) last released 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 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 firm 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 23rd. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.72%. Discover Financial Services’s payout ratio is presently 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.