Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) Shares Sold by Financial Advocates Investment Management

Financial Advocates Investment Management lowered its position in Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) by 4.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 6,387 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 299 shares during the period. Financial Advocates Investment Management’s holdings in Discover Financial Services were worth $1,106,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its position in Discover Financial Services by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 9,248 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,602,000 after purchasing an additional 56 shares in the last quarter. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. lifted its position in shares of Discover Financial Services by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. now owns 6,158 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,067,000 after buying an additional 57 shares in the last quarter. Invst LLC grew its stake in Discover Financial Services by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter. Invst LLC now owns 7,253 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,018,000 after acquiring an additional 62 shares during the period. CTC Alternative Strategies Ltd. increased its holdings in Discover Financial Services by 3.2% in the 3rd quarter. CTC Alternative Strategies Ltd. now owns 2,047 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $287,000 after acquiring an additional 63 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Eagle Bluffs Wealth Management LLC raised its position in Discover Financial Services by 0.5% during the third quarter. Eagle Bluffs Wealth Management LLC now owns 14,501 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,034,000 after acquiring an additional 67 shares during the period. 86.94% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on DFS shares. Evercore ISI raised their price target on shares of Discover Financial Services from $156.00 to $163.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Barclays increased 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. StockNews.com lowered Discover Financial Services from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on Discover Financial Services from $193.00 to $210.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Truist Financial lifted their target price on shares of Discover Financial Services from $233.00 to $262.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $182.64.

Discover Financial Services Stock Down 1.5 %

Discover Financial Services stock opened at $199.73 on Friday. Discover Financial Services has a fifty-two week low of $106.65 and a fifty-two week high of $205.76. The firm has a market capitalization of $50.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 1.46. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $182.89 and its two-hundred day moving average is $158.54. 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 issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 22nd. The financial services provider reported $5.11 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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%. Analysts predict that Discover Financial Services will post 13.39 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Discover Financial Services Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared 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. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.40%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 23rd. Discover Financial Services’s dividend payout ratio is presently 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.