Millstone Evans Group LLC Makes New Investment in Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS)

Millstone Evans Group LLC bought a new position in Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 400 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $69,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in Discover Financial Services in the fourth quarter worth about $33,000. Flagship Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Discover Financial Services in the fourth quarter worth about $34,000. Bfsg LLC purchased a new position in Discover Financial Services in the fourth quarter worth about $35,000. Grove Bank & Trust boosted its position in Discover Financial Services by 78.1% in the fourth quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 203 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 89 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Discover Financial Services during the 3rd quarter valued at about $30,000. 86.94% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on DFS. Truist Financial lowered their price objective on Discover Financial Services from $262.00 to $219.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday. UBS Group raised Discover Financial Services from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $150.00 to $239.00 in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on Discover Financial Services from $193.00 to $210.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Barclays lifted their price objective on Discover Financial Services from $186.00 to $209.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Discover Financial Services from $185.00 to $214.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Discover Financial Services currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $192.40.

Discover Financial Services Stock Performance

NYSE DFS opened at $164.90 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $41.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.33, a P/E/G ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 1.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a current ratio of 1.09. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $186.18 and its 200-day moving average price is $169.10. Discover Financial Services has a fifty-two week low of $119.31 and a fifty-two week high of $205.76.

Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The financial services provider reported $5.11 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.13 by $1.98. Discover Financial Services had a return on equity of 26.18% and a net margin of 17.29%. Sell-side analysts predict that Discover Financial Services will post 13.88 earnings per share for the current year.

Discover Financial Services Announces Dividend

The business 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. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.70%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 23rd. Discover Financial Services’s dividend payout ratio is currently 17.54%.

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.