Baker Ellis Asset Management LLC Has $5.40 Million Position in Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS)

Baker Ellis Asset Management LLC cut its holdings in Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) by 1.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 31,179 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 418 shares during the quarter. Baker Ellis Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Discover Financial Services were worth $5,401,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its position in Discover Financial Services by 4.6% in the second quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 17,986 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,353,000 after purchasing an additional 797 shares during the period. Sei Investments Co. boosted its holdings in Discover Financial Services by 58.8% during the second quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 92,474 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $12,096,000 after buying an additional 34,226 shares during the last quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Discover Financial Services by 4.5% during the second quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 52,855 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $6,914,000 after buying an additional 2,296 shares during the last quarter. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC bought a new position in Discover Financial Services during the second quarter worth about $415,000. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Discover Financial Services by 73.7% during the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,958 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $282,000 after buying an additional 831 shares during the last quarter. 86.94% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on DFS shares. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on Discover Financial Services from $148.00 to $161.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, October 18th. UBS Group upgraded Discover Financial Services from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $150.00 to $239.00 in a report on Monday, January 13th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Discover Financial Services from $160.00 to $185.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on Discover Financial Services from $156.00 to $163.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Discover Financial Services from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Discover Financial Services presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $171.71.

Discover Financial Services Stock Up 4.6 %

DFS stock opened at $197.98 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 1.10, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09. The firm has a market capitalization of $49.75 billion, a PE ratio of 15.98, a PEG ratio of 1.09 and a beta of 1.46. Discover Financial Services has a 1-year low of $99.07 and a 1-year high of $198.97. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $177.30 and its 200 day simple moving average is $153.37.

Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) last posted 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 22.08% and a net margin of 13.78%. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Discover Financial Services will post 14.15 EPS for the current year.

Discover Financial Services Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 6th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 20th will be paid a $0.70 dividend. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.41%. Discover Financial Services’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 22.60%.

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.