Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators Trims Stock Position in Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS)

Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators lowered its position in shares of Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) by 12.4% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 640 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 91 shares during the period. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators’ holdings in Discover Financial Services were worth $111,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of DFS. Bell Bank purchased a new position in Discover Financial Services in the 4th quarter worth approximately $244,000. Transcend Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Discover Financial Services in the 4th quarter worth approximately $201,000. Wolverine Asset Management LLC grew its stake in Discover Financial Services by 32.0% in the 4th quarter. Wolverine Asset Management LLC now owns 6,600 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,143,000 after buying an additional 1,600 shares in the last quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB grew its stake in Discover Financial Services by 62.6% in the 4th quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 120,079 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $20,801,000 after buying an additional 46,234 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Financial Sense Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in Discover Financial Services in the 4th quarter worth approximately $732,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.94% of the company’s stock.

Discover Financial Services Trading Down 2.8 %

NYSE:DFS opened at $194.21 on Friday. The company has a fifty day moving average of $186.87 and a 200 day moving average of $163.19. Discover Financial Services has a 52 week low of $118.74 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 firm has a market capitalization of $48.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.17, a P/E/G ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 1.46.

Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The financial services provider reported $5.11 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%. On average, research analysts predict that Discover Financial Services will post 13.88 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. Investors of record on Friday, May 23rd will be issued a dividend of $0.70 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 23rd. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.44%. Discover Financial Services’s dividend payout ratio is currently 17.54%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have commented on DFS. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on shares of Discover Financial Services from $193.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. StockNews.com cut shares of Discover Financial Services from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Discover Financial Services from $185.00 to $214.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Evercore ISI boosted their price target 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. Finally, Truist Financial upped their price objective on shares of Discover Financial Services from $233.00 to $262.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Discover Financial Services has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $186.46.

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.