C2P Capital Advisory Group LLC d.b.a. Prosperity Capital Advisors Makes New $351.77 Million Investment in Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS)

C2P Capital Advisory Group LLC d.b.a. Prosperity Capital Advisors bought a new stake in Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund bought 2,030,631 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $351,766,000. Discover Financial Services accounts for approximately 12.4% of C2P Capital Advisory Group LLC d.b.a. Prosperity Capital Advisors’ investment portfolio, making the stock its biggest position.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. National Pension Service raised its holdings in shares of Discover Financial Services by 14.8% in the third quarter. National Pension Service now owns 439,756 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $61,693,000 after acquiring an additional 56,814 shares in the last quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its position in Discover Financial Services by 10.5% in the third quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 115,487 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $16,202,000 after buying an additional 10,946 shares during the last quarter. Brookstone Capital Management purchased a new stake in Discover Financial Services in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $282,000. Meyer Handelman Co. acquired a new position in Discover Financial Services in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $239,000. Finally, Janney Montgomery Scott LLC acquired a new position in Discover Financial Services in the third quarter valued at approximately $2,415,000. 86.94% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Discover Financial Services Stock Performance

NYSE DFS opened at $196.14 on Tuesday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $184.70 and its 200 day moving average price is $160.98. Discover Financial Services has a twelve month low of $109.50 and a twelve month high of $205.76. The company has a market capitalization of $49.29 billion, a PE ratio of 12.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.63 and a beta of 1.46. The company has a current ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09.

Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 22nd. The financial services provider reported $5.11 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.13 by $1.98. Discover Financial Services had a return on equity of 26.18% and a net margin of 17.29%. On average, research analysts predict that Discover Financial Services will post 13.57 earnings per share for the current year.

Discover Financial Services Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 6th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 23rd will be paid a $0.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 23rd. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.43%. Discover Financial Services’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 17.54%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on DFS shares. Truist Financial upped their target price on Discover Financial Services from $233.00 to $262.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on 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. StockNews.com downgraded Discover Financial Services from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. UBS Group raised Discover Financial Services from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $150.00 to $239.00 in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Discover Financial Services from $185.00 to $214.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $186.46.

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.