Essex Financial Services Inc. Cuts Position in Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS)

Essex Financial Services Inc. reduced its stake in shares of Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) by 14.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 2,862 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 468 shares during the period. Essex Financial Services Inc.’s holdings in Discover Financial Services were worth $496,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in DFS. FMR LLC grew its holdings in shares of Discover Financial Services by 8.0% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 7,493,862 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,051,314,000 after acquiring an additional 558,227 shares during the period. Mizuho Securities USA LLC raised its holdings in Discover Financial Services by 1,272.0% during the third quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 265,155 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $37,199,000 after purchasing an additional 245,829 shares during the last quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC purchased a new stake in Discover Financial Services during the fourth quarter worth $39,067,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Discover Financial Services in the third quarter valued at $21,169,000. Finally, KBC Group NV increased its position in shares of Discover Financial Services by 19.0% in the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 924,033 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $160,070,000 after buying an additional 147,558 shares in the last quarter. 86.94% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Discover Financial Services Stock Performance

Discover Financial Services stock opened at $188.34 on Thursday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $183.87 and a 200 day moving average price of $159.97. Discover Financial Services has a 52 week low of $107.10 and a 52 week high of $205.76. The firm has a market capitalization of $47.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.80, a PEG 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 announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The financial services provider reported $5.11 earnings per share 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%. Equities research analysts anticipate that Discover Financial Services will post 13.57 earnings per share for the current year.

Discover Financial Services Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 6th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 23rd will be paid a dividend of $0.70 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 23rd. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.49%. Discover Financial Services’s dividend payout ratio is currently 17.54%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently commented on DFS. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on shares of 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. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target 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. Wells Fargo & Company raised 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 note on Friday, January 24th. StockNews.com lowered Discover Financial Services from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Discover Financial Services from $146.00 to $169.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $186.46.

Discover Financial Services 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.