Mackenzie Financial Corp Trims Holdings in Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS)

Mackenzie Financial Corp trimmed its stake in shares of Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) by 1.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 27,592 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 545 shares during the quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp’s holdings in Discover Financial Services were worth $3,101,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Flputnam Investment Management Co. increased its position in shares of Discover Financial Services by 7.9% during the third quarter. Flputnam Investment Management Co. now owns 2,646 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $229,000 after buying an additional 193 shares during the period. DAVENPORT & Co LLC increased its holdings in Discover Financial Services by 335.4% during the 4th quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC now owns 63,796 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $7,171,000 after acquiring an additional 49,145 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its stake in Discover Financial Services by 1.8% in the 4th quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 916,367 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $103,000,000 after purchasing an additional 16,532 shares in the last quarter. Vest Financial LLC lifted its stake in Discover Financial Services by 18.8% in the 4th quarter. Vest Financial LLC now owns 121,753 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $13,685,000 after purchasing an additional 19,283 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James & Associates boosted its holdings in Discover Financial Services by 27.1% in the 4th quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 339,717 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $38,184,000 after purchasing an additional 72,452 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.94% of the company’s stock.

Discover Financial Services Price Performance

Shares of Discover Financial Services stock opened at $126.69 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.49, a current ratio of 1.05 and a quick ratio of 1.13. Discover Financial Services has a one year low of $79.04 and a one year high of $131.65. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $122.34 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $106.44. The stock has a market capitalization of $31.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 1.45.

Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 18th. The financial services provider reported $1.10 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 16.74% and a net margin of 10.56%. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $3.58 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that Discover Financial Services will post 11.34 EPS for the current year.

Discover Financial Services Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 6th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 23rd will be paid a dividend of $0.70 per share. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.21%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 22nd. Discover Financial Services’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 31.93%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

DFS has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on Discover Financial Services from $137.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Discover Financial Services from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $105.00 to $133.00 in a research report on Thursday, February 8th. Piper Sandler lifted their target price on shares of Discover Financial Services from $127.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 23rd. HSBC increased their price target on shares of Discover Financial Services from $107.00 to $144.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, March 21st. Finally, BMO Capital Markets dropped their price objective on shares of Discover Financial Services from $116.00 to $104.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 22nd. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $126.29.

Insider Transactions at Discover Financial Services

In related news, CFO John Greene sold 35,191 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $106.51, for a total transaction of $3,748,193.41. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 18,592 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,980,233.92. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.69% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.