Blue Trust Inc. Increases Holdings in Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS)

Blue Trust Inc. raised its stake in Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) by 31.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,625 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 391 shares during the quarter. Blue Trust Inc.’s holdings in Discover Financial Services were worth $281,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. increased its holdings in Discover Financial Services by 506.5% in the 3rd quarter. DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. now owns 188 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 157 shares during the last quarter. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. purchased a new position in Discover Financial Services during the 3rd quarter worth $30,000. Grove Bank & Trust lifted its holdings in Discover Financial Services by 78.1% in the fourth quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 203 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 89 shares during the period. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. grew its holdings in Discover Financial Services by 37.1% in the third quarter. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. now owns 292 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $41,000 after purchasing an additional 79 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Venturi Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Discover Financial Services by 27.4% in the third quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 316 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $44,000 after acquiring an additional 68 shares during the last quarter. 86.94% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Discover Financial Services Price Performance

Discover Financial Services stock opened at $201.09 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $50.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.60, a P/E/G ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 1.46. The company has a quick ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09. Discover Financial Services has a 12-month low of $104.08 and a 12-month high of $205.76. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $181.46 and its 200 day simple moving average is $157.02.

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, beating 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%. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Discover Financial Services will post 13.39 earnings per share for the current year.

Discover Financial Services Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 6th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 23rd will be issued a $0.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 23rd. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.39%. Discover Financial Services’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 17.54%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

DFS has been the topic of several recent research reports. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Discover Financial Services from $185.00 to $214.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Truist Financial raised their target price on Discover Financial Services from $233.00 to $262.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target 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. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target 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, Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on shares of Discover Financial Services from $156.00 to $163.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Discover Financial Services currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $182.64.

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.