Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) Shares Purchased by PFG Investments LLC

PFG Investments LLC grew its stake in shares of Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) by 6.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,791 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 104 shares during the period. PFG Investments LLC’s holdings in Discover Financial Services were worth $310,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. National Pension Service grew its position in Discover Financial Services by 14.8% during the third quarter. National Pension Service now owns 439,756 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $61,693,000 after acquiring an additional 56,814 shares during the period. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Discover Financial Services by 10.5% in the 3rd quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 115,487 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $16,202,000 after purchasing an additional 10,946 shares in the last quarter. Brookstone Capital Management purchased a new stake in shares of Discover Financial Services during the 4th quarter worth about $282,000. Meyer Handelman Co. acquired a new stake in Discover Financial Services during the 4th quarter worth approximately $239,000. Finally, Janney Montgomery Scott LLC purchased a new position in Discover Financial Services in the third quarter valued at approximately $2,415,000. 86.94% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

DFS has been the subject of several recent research reports. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on shares of Discover Financial Services from $193.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Wells Fargo & Company raised 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Discover Financial Services from $146.00 to $169.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on Discover Financial Services from $170.00 to $232.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered Discover Financial Services from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $182.64.

Discover Financial Services Trading Down 0.7 %

NYSE:DFS opened at $201.09 on Friday. Discover Financial Services has a 52 week low of $104.08 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 company has a market cap of $50.54 billion, a PE ratio of 12.60, a P/E/G ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 1.46. The business’s 50 day moving average is $181.02 and its two-hundred day moving average is $156.47.

Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 22nd. The financial services provider reported $5.11 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.13 by $1.98. Discover Financial Services had a net margin of 17.29% and a return on equity of 26.18%. On average, analysts predict that Discover Financial Services will post 13.39 EPS 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 issued a dividend of $0.70 per share. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.39%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 23rd. Discover Financial Services’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 17.54%.

Discover Financial Services 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.