Metis Global Partners LLC Increases Holdings in Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS)

Metis Global Partners LLC boosted its position in Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) by 8.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 13,839 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 1,041 shares during the quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC’s holdings in Discover Financial Services were worth $1,556,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Todd Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Discover Financial Services in the 4th quarter valued at $24,852,000. M&T Bank Corp boosted its position in Discover Financial Services by 7.7% during the fourth quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 34,158 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,839,000 after buying an additional 2,442 shares during the period. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. grew its stake in shares of Discover Financial Services by 34.7% during the fourth quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. now owns 9,755 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,097,000 after buying an additional 2,513 shares during the last quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Discover Financial Services in the fourth quarter worth about $34,429,000. Finally, Natixis Advisors L.P. lifted its stake in shares of Discover Financial Services by 124.1% in the 4th quarter. Natixis Advisors L.P. now owns 184,851 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $20,777,000 after acquiring an additional 102,380 shares during the last quarter. 86.94% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have commented on the company. 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 note on Friday, January 19th. Evercore ISI upped their price target on shares of Discover Financial Services from $117.00 to $140.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a report on Thursday, February 22nd. StockNews.com began coverage on Discover Financial Services in a research report on Saturday. They set a “hold” rating for the company. BMO Capital Markets cut their price target on shares of Discover Financial Services from $116.00 to $104.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 22nd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and set a $140.00 price target (up from $117.00) on shares of Discover Financial Services in a report on Wednesday, February 21st. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $126.29.

Discover Financial Services Price Performance

NYSE:DFS opened at $123.61 on Wednesday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $124.50 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $109.29. Discover Financial Services has a 52 week low of $79.04 and a 52 week high of $131.65. The stock has a market cap of $30.98 billion, a PE ratio of 14.09, a P/E/G ratio of 0.72 and a beta of 1.43. The company has a quick ratio of 1.12, a current ratio of 1.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.50.

Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 18th. The financial services provider reported $1.10 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.98 by ($1.88). Discover Financial Services had a return on equity of 17.07% and a net margin of 10.56%. The business had revenue of $4.21 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.07 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $3.58 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that Discover Financial Services will post 11.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Discover Financial Services Announces Dividend

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

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.