Thompson Siegel & Walmsley LLC Invests $2.50 Million in Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS)

Thompson Siegel & Walmsley LLC acquired a new position in shares of Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 14,423 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $2,498,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Discover Financial Services during the third quarter worth $30,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Discover Financial Services during the fourth quarter worth $33,000. Grove Bank & Trust raised its holdings in shares of Discover Financial Services by 78.1% during the fourth quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 203 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 89 shares in the last quarter. Bfsg LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Discover Financial Services during the fourth quarter worth $35,000. Finally, Hantz Financial Services Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Discover Financial Services during the fourth quarter worth $37,000. 86.94% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

DFS has been the topic of several recent research reports. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Discover Financial Services from $185.00 to $214.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Royal Bank of Canada raised 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. UBS Group upgraded Discover Financial Services from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the company from $150.00 to $239.00 in a report on Monday, January 13th. Barclays raised their target price on Discover Financial Services from $186.00 to $209.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised 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. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $191.91.

Discover Financial Services Trading Up 3.4 %

Shares of NYSE:DFS opened at $164.67 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $41.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.32, a P/E/G ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 1.45. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $187.69 and its 200-day moving average is $167.82. Discover Financial Services has a 52-week low of $119.31 and a 52-week high of $205.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a current ratio of 1.09.

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, topping 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 predict that Discover Financial Services will post 13.88 earnings per share for the current year.

Discover Financial Services Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 6th. Investors of record on Friday, May 23rd will be given a dividend of $0.70 per share. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.70%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 23rd. Discover Financial Services’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 17.54%.

Discover Financial Services Company 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.