Blair William & Co. IL Reduces Stake in Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS)

Blair William & Co. IL decreased its holdings in shares of Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) by 3.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 30,305 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 958 shares during the quarter. Blair William & Co. IL’s holdings in Discover Financial Services were worth $5,250,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in DFS. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Discover Financial Services during the 4th quarter worth approximately $33,000. Flagship Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Discover Financial Services during the 4th quarter worth $34,000. Bfsg LLC purchased a new stake in Discover Financial Services in the fourth quarter valued at $35,000. Grove Bank & Trust boosted its stake 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 valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 89 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Discover Financial Services during the third quarter worth about $30,000. 86.94% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

DFS has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Discover Financial Services from $185.00 to $214.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Discover Financial Services from $146.00 to $169.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Truist Financial lowered their price target on Discover Financial Services from $262.00 to $219.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, March 21st. StockNews.com cut Discover Financial Services from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on 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 equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $192.40.

Discover Financial Services Stock Down 2.6 %

Shares of NYSE DFS opened at $158.23 on Monday. Discover Financial Services has a 52 week low of $119.31 and a 52 week high of $205.76. The company has a quick ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09. The stock has a market capitalization of $39.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 1.45. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $184.39 and a 200 day moving average price of $170.32.

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 return on equity of 26.18% and a net margin of 17.29%. Equities research analysts anticipate that Discover Financial Services will post 13.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Discover Financial Services Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 6th. Shareholders 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 yield of 1.77%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 23rd. Discover Financial Services’s payout ratio is 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.