Russell Investments Group Ltd. Has $22.78 Million Stock Position in Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS)

Russell Investments Group Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) by 9.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 202,620 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 17,171 shares during the quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. owned about 0.08% of Discover Financial Services worth $22,778,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Boston Partners raised its stake in Discover Financial Services by 56.5% during the 3rd 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 increased its holdings 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 worth $227,912,000 after purchasing an additional 1,430,637 shares during the period. Palestra Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Discover Financial Services during the 3rd quarter worth about $81,865,000. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Discover Financial Services by 336.5% during the third quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,133,784 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $98,220,000 after buying an additional 874,020 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Discover Financial Services by 30.9% in the third 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 during the period. 86.94% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Discover Financial Services Trading Down 2.5 %

Shares of DFS opened at $123.58 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.49, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a current ratio of 1.05. The company has a market cap of $30.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.09, a PEG ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 1.45. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $124.25 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $108.13. Discover Financial Services has a 52-week low of $79.04 and a 52-week high of $131.65.

Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 18th. The financial services provider reported $1.10 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.98 by ($1.88). The business had revenue of $4.21 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.07 billion. Discover Financial Services had a net margin of 10.56% and a return on equity of 16.74%. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $3.58 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Discover Financial Services will post 11.39 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Discover Financial Services Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 6th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 23rd will be given a dividend of $0.70 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 22nd. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.27%. Discover Financial Services’s payout ratio is 31.93%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have commented on DFS. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price target on Discover Financial Services from $139.00 to $121.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 19th. HSBC upped their target price on Discover Financial Services from $107.00 to $144.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Discover Financial Services from $110.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $140.00 price objective (up previously from $117.00) on shares of Discover Financial Services in a research note on Wednesday, February 21st. Finally, StockNews.com began coverage on shares of Discover Financial Services in a report on Friday, April 26th. They set a “hold” rating for the company. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Discover Financial Services currently has an average 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.