Van ECK Associates Corp Buys 12,011 Shares of Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS)

Van ECK Associates Corp grew its stake in shares of Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) by 47.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 37,117 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 12,011 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp’s holdings in Discover Financial Services were worth $4,172,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Boston Partners lifted its holdings in Discover Financial Services by 56.5% during the third quarter. Boston Partners now owns 8,597,250 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $743,663,000 after purchasing an additional 3,102,119 shares during the last quarter. Truist Financial Corp lifted its stake in shares of Discover Financial Services by 239.6% during the 4th quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 2,027,686 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $227,912,000 after buying an additional 1,430,637 shares in the last quarter. Palestra Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Discover Financial Services during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $81,865,000. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Discover Financial Services by 336.5% in the 3rd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,133,784 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $98,220,000 after buying an additional 874,020 shares during the period. Finally, Invesco Ltd. grew its stake in Discover Financial Services by 30.9% in the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,233,324 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $193,473,000 after buying an additional 526,951 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.94% of the company’s stock.

Discover Financial Services Price Performance

DFS opened at $125.04 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 1.12, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.50. The stock has a market capitalization of $31.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.26, a PEG ratio of 0.74 and a beta of 1.43. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $124.41 and a 200-day moving average price of $108.71. Discover Financial Services has a 12-month low of $79.04 and a 12-month high of $131.65.

Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 18th. The financial services provider reported $1.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.98 by ($1.88). The firm had revenue of $4.21 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.07 billion. Discover Financial Services had a return on equity of 17.07% and a net margin of 10.56%. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $3.58 EPS. Equities analysts predict that Discover Financial Services will post 11.86 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 Thursday, June 6th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 23rd will be paid a $0.70 dividend. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.24%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 22nd. Discover Financial Services’s dividend payout ratio is presently 31.93%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the company. Morgan Stanley raised Discover Financial Services from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $105.00 to $133.00 in a report on Thursday, February 8th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and set a $140.00 target price (up previously from $117.00) on shares of Discover Financial Services in a report on Wednesday, February 21st. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price target on Discover Financial Services from $139.00 to $121.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 19th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on shares of Discover Financial Services from $137.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, April 19th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Discover Financial Services from $105.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $126.29.

About Discover Financial Services

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; private student loans, 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.