Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) Shares Sold by D.A. Davidson & CO.

D.A. Davidson & CO. lowered its position in Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) by 9.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 9,113 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 916 shares during the quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO.’s holdings in Discover Financial Services were worth $1,579,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. National Pension Service grew its holdings in shares of Discover Financial Services by 14.8% in the third quarter. National Pension Service now owns 439,756 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $61,693,000 after purchasing an additional 56,814 shares during the period. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in Discover Financial Services by 10.5% during the third quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 115,487 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $16,202,000 after buying an additional 10,946 shares during the period. Brookstone Capital Management purchased a new position in Discover Financial Services during the fourth quarter worth about $282,000. Meyer Handelman Co. purchased a new position in Discover Financial Services during the fourth quarter worth about $239,000. Finally, Janney Montgomery Scott LLC purchased a new position in Discover Financial Services during the third quarter worth about $2,415,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.94% of the company’s stock.

Discover Financial Services Stock Down 2.8 %

DFS stock opened at $194.21 on Friday. 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 has a twelve month low of $118.74 and a twelve month high of $205.76. The company’s 50 day moving average is $186.87 and its two-hundred day moving average is $163.19. The stock has a market cap of $48.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.17, a PEG ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 1.46.

Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 22nd. The financial services provider reported $5.11 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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%. Research analysts expect that Discover Financial Services will post 13.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Discover Financial Services Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 6th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 23rd will be given a dividend of $0.70 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 23rd. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.44%. Discover Financial Services’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 17.54%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

DFS has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price 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. Truist Financial increased their price target on shares of Discover Financial Services from $233.00 to $262.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on shares of Discover Financial Services from $193.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. UBS Group raised shares of Discover Financial Services from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $150.00 to $239.00 in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of Discover Financial Services from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average 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.