SG Americas Securities LLC cut its position in Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) by 30.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 12,976 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 5,800 shares during the quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC’s holdings in Discover Financial Services were worth $1,459,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.
A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Penserra Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Discover Financial Services by 7.2% during the 4th quarter. Penserra Capital Management LLC now owns 1,451 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $141,000 after purchasing an additional 97 shares during the period. Toroso Investments LLC raised its stake in shares of Discover Financial Services by 3.1% during the 1st quarter. Toroso Investments LLC now owns 3,299 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $364,000 after purchasing an additional 98 shares during the period. TIAA FSB raised its stake in shares of Discover Financial Services by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. TIAA FSB now owns 8,532 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $835,000 after purchasing an additional 102 shares during the period. Czech National Bank raised its stake in shares of Discover Financial Services by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 43,796 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $4,923,000 after purchasing an additional 110 shares during the period. Finally, Harbour Investments Inc. raised its stake in shares of Discover Financial Services by 6.9% during the 4th quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 1,838 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $180,000 after purchasing an additional 119 shares during the period. 86.94% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.
Wall Street Analyst Weigh In
A number of research firms recently issued reports on DFS. Stephens reiterated an “equal weight” rating and set a $98.00 price objective on shares of Discover Financial Services in a research note on Thursday, December 14th. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on Discover Financial Services from $117.00 to $140.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 22nd. Bank of America upgraded Discover Financial Services from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $94.00 to $116.00 in a research report on Wednesday, December 6th. Seaport Res Ptn cut Discover Financial Services from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, March 15th. Finally, HSBC boosted their target price on Discover Financial Services from $107.00 to $144.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 21st. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $121.83.
Check Out Our Latest Research Report on DFS
Discover Financial Services Price Performance
DFS opened at $131.09 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $115.72 and a 200-day moving average price of $101.85. Discover Financial Services has a 12-month low of $79.04 and a 12-month high of $131.65. The company has a current ratio of 1.13, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.49. The stock has a market capitalization of $32.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.65, a PEG ratio of 1.38 and a beta of 1.45.
Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS – Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 18th. The financial services provider reported $1.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.50 by ($0.96). Discover Financial Services had a return on equity of 22.24% and a net margin of 14.30%. The firm had revenue of $4.20 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.10 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $3.77 earnings per share. Discover Financial Services’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that Discover Financial Services will post 11.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
Discover Financial Services Announces Dividend
The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 7th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 22nd were issued a dividend of $0.70 per share. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.14%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 21st. Discover Financial Services’s dividend payout ratio is presently 24.89%.
Insider Activity at Discover Financial Services
In related news, CFO John Greene sold 35,191 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $106.51, for a total transaction of $3,748,193.41. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 18,592 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,980,233.92. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.69% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.
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; private student loans, 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.
Further Reading
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