Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. Acquires 421 Shares of Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS)

Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. raised its holdings in Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) by 5.2% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 8,472 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 421 shares during the quarter. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd.’s holdings in Discover Financial Services were worth $1,108,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of DFS. TrinityPoint Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of Discover Financial Services during the fourth quarter worth $300,000. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd bought a new position in shares of Discover Financial Services during the fourth quarter worth $215,000. Gladstone Institutional Advisory LLC bought a new position in shares of Discover Financial Services during the fourth quarter worth $336,000. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Discover Financial Services by 9.3% during the fourth quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. now owns 5,521 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $621,000 after purchasing an additional 468 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company MN boosted its position in shares of Discover Financial Services by 8.4% during the fourth quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 406,092 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $45,645,000 after purchasing an additional 31,354 shares in the last quarter. 86.94% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have issued reports on DFS. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Discover Financial Services from $132.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, July 19th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on shares of Discover Financial Services from $115.00 to $119.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, July 19th. BTIG Research started coverage on shares of Discover Financial Services in a research report on Friday, June 7th. They issued a “neutral” rating for the company. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Discover Financial Services from $135.00 to $137.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, July 19th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on shares of Discover Financial Services from $145.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 9th. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Discover Financial Services has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $132.94.

Discover Financial Services Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:DFS opened at $143.92 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $134.56 and a 200-day moving average of $128.42. The stock has a market capitalization of $36.09 billion, a PE ratio of 16.41, a PEG ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 1.42. The company has a current ratio of 1.12, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28. Discover Financial Services has a 12 month low of $79.04 and a 12 month high of $147.61.

Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 17th. The financial services provider reported $6.06 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.06 by $3.00. The company had revenue of $4.54 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.18 billion. Discover Financial Services had a net margin of 12.88% and a return on equity of 20.92%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 17.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $3.54 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Discover Financial Services will post 12.87 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Discover Financial Services Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 5th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 22nd were given a dividend of $0.70 per share. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.95%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, August 22nd. Discover Financial Services’s dividend payout ratio is 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.