LPL Financial LLC Has $30.19 Million Stock Holdings in Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS)

LPL Financial LLC increased its position in shares of Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) by 29.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 174,282 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 39,545 shares during the quarter. LPL Financial LLC owned about 0.07% of Discover Financial Services worth $30,191,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. State Street Corp boosted its position in shares of Discover Financial Services by 0.8% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 10,498,044 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,472,771,000 after purchasing an additional 80,601 shares in the last quarter. C2P Capital Advisory Group LLC d.b.a. Prosperity Capital Advisors bought a new position in Discover Financial Services during the fourth quarter worth about $351,766,000. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its stake in Discover Financial Services by 0.7% in the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 1,834,705 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $257,391,000 after acquiring an additional 12,255 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Discover Financial Services by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,738,804 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $301,213,000 after acquiring an additional 10,528 shares in the last quarter. Finally, KBC Group NV raised its position in shares of Discover Financial Services by 19.0% during the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 924,033 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $160,070,000 after purchasing an additional 147,558 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.94% of the company’s stock.

Discover Financial Services Price Performance

NYSE:DFS opened at $158.23 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $184.39 and a 200 day simple moving average of $170.03. Discover Financial Services has a 1-year low of $119.31 and a 1-year high of $205.76. The stock has a market capitalization of $39.81 billion, a PE ratio of 9.91, a P/E/G ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 1.45.

Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 22nd. The financial services provider reported $5.11 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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, research analysts expect that Discover Financial Services will post 13.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Discover Financial Services Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 6th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 23rd will be paid a dividend of $0.70 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 23rd. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.77%. Discover Financial Services’s dividend payout ratio is currently 17.54%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

DFS has been the subject of several research analyst reports. UBS Group upgraded Discover Financial Services from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $150.00 to $239.00 in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Discover Financial Services from $186.00 to $209.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” 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 stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Truist Financial dropped their price target on Discover Financial Services from $262.00 to $219.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, March 21st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Discover Financial Services from $185.00 to $214.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $192.40.

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.