Cornercap Investment Counsel Inc. Acquires 378 Shares of Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS)

Cornercap Investment Counsel Inc. boosted its holdings in Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) by 5.1% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 7,754 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 378 shares during the period. Cornercap Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings in Discover Financial Services were worth $872,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Flputnam Investment Management Co. grew its stake in Discover Financial Services by 7.9% during the third quarter. Flputnam Investment Management Co. now owns 2,646 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $229,000 after buying an additional 193 shares during the last quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC grew its stake in Discover Financial Services by 335.4% during the fourth quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC now owns 63,796 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $7,171,000 after buying an additional 49,145 shares during the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC grew its stake in Discover Financial Services by 1.8% during the fourth quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 916,367 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $103,000,000 after buying an additional 16,532 shares during the last quarter. Vest Financial LLC grew its stake in Discover Financial Services by 18.8% during the fourth quarter. Vest Financial LLC now owns 121,753 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $13,685,000 after buying an additional 19,283 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James & Associates grew its stake in Discover Financial Services by 27.1% during the fourth quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 339,717 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $38,184,000 after buying an additional 72,452 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.94% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Discover Financial Services

In related news, CFO John Greene sold 35,191 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $106.51, for a total value of $3,748,193.41. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 18,592 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,980,233.92. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.50% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently commented on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Discover Financial Services from $105.00 to $135.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price target on shares of Discover Financial Services from $139.00 to $121.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 19th. Citigroup increased their price target on shares of Discover Financial Services from $127.00 to $168.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 23rd. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and set a $140.00 price target (up from $117.00) on shares of Discover Financial Services in a research note on Wednesday, February 21st. Finally, Barclays increased their price target on shares of Discover Financial Services from $112.00 to $120.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 9th. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $125.22.

Discover Financial Services Stock Up 0.3 %

Shares of DFS stock opened at $121.31 on Tuesday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $120.83 and a 200-day moving average of $105.19. The company has a quick ratio of 1.13, a current ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.49. Discover Financial Services has a 12-month low of $79.04 and a 12-month high of $131.65. The company has a market capitalization of $30.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.78, a P/E/G ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 1.45.

Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 18th. The financial services provider reported $1.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.50 by ($0.96). The company had revenue of $4.20 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.10 billion. Discover Financial Services had a return on equity of 22.24% and a net margin of 14.30%. The firm’s revenue was up 12.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $3.77 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Discover Financial Services will post 11.2 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Discover Financial Services Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 7th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 22nd were given a $0.70 dividend. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.31%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 21st. Discover Financial Services’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 24.89%.

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; 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.