Sienna Gestion Acquires 43,472 Shares of Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS)

Sienna Gestion boosted its stake in shares of Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) by 1,146.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 47,264 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 43,472 shares during the quarter. Sienna Gestion’s holdings in Discover Financial Services were worth $8,186,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Discover Financial Services during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $38,489,000. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its holdings in Discover Financial Services by 10.5% during the 3rd quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 115,487 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $16,202,000 after buying an additional 10,946 shares in the last quarter. Brookstone Capital Management bought a new position in Discover Financial Services in the 4th quarter valued at $282,000. Meyer Handelman Co. acquired a new stake in shares of Discover Financial Services in the 4th quarter valued at $239,000. Finally, Mechanics Bank Trust Department bought a new stake in shares of Discover Financial Services during the fourth quarter worth $234,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.94% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently issued reports on DFS. 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. StockNews.com cut shares of Discover Financial Services from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on shares of Discover Financial Services from $170.00 to $232.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Discover Financial Services from $146.00 to $169.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, UBS Group upgraded Discover Financial Services from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $150.00 to $239.00 in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $191.91.

Discover Financial Services Stock Down 2.9 %

NYSE:DFS opened at $158.89 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $187.91 and a 200 day simple moving average of $167.60. Discover Financial Services has a 52-week low of $119.31 and a 52-week high of $205.76. The company has a market cap of $39.98 billion, a PE ratio of 9.96, a PEG ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 1.45. 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 results 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, sell-side 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 declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 6th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 23rd will be paid a $0.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 23rd. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.76%. Discover Financial Services’s payout ratio is currently 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.