Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) Shares Sold by Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp

Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp cut its stake in shares of Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) by 10.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 122,734 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 14,588 shares during the quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp’s holdings in Discover Financial Services were worth $21,261,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in Discover Financial Services by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 31,045,208 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $5,377,961,000 after acquiring an additional 290,937 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its position in shares of Discover Financial Services by 0.8% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 10,498,044 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,472,771,000 after purchasing an additional 80,601 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC grew its stake in shares of Discover Financial Services by 8.0% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 7,493,862 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,051,314,000 after purchasing an additional 558,227 shares in the last quarter. C2P Capital Advisory Group LLC d.b.a. Prosperity Capital Advisors acquired a new position in shares of Discover Financial Services during the fourth quarter worth $351,766,000. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its stake in Discover Financial Services by 0.7% in the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 1,834,705 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $257,391,000 after buying an additional 12,255 shares in the last quarter. 86.94% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Discover Financial Services Stock Down 1.9 %

DFS stock opened at $162.91 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $40.99 billion, a PE ratio of 10.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 1.45. The company has a fifty day moving average of $184.97 and a 200-day moving average of $169.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a current ratio of 1.09. Discover Financial Services has a one year low of $119.31 and a one year high of $205.76.

Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 22nd. The financial services provider reported $5.11 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.13 by $1.98. Discover Financial Services had a net margin of 17.29% and a return on equity of 26.18%. As a group, analysts expect that Discover Financial Services will post 13.88 EPS for the current year.

Discover Financial Services Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 6th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 23rd will be issued a $0.70 dividend. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.72%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 23rd. Discover Financial Services’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 17.54%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently issued reports on DFS. UBS Group raised Discover Financial Services from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $150.00 to $239.00 in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on Discover Financial Services from $170.00 to $232.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Discover Financial Services from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Discover Financial Services from $185.00 to $214.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on shares of Discover Financial Services from $193.00 to $210.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $192.40.

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; 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.