Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) Shares Purchased by Townsquare Capital LLC

Townsquare Capital LLC raised its holdings in shares of Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) by 6.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 5,099 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 330 shares during the period. Townsquare Capital LLC’s holdings in Discover Financial Services were worth $883,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Hemington Wealth Management lifted its position in shares of Discover Financial Services by 11.0% in the fourth quarter. Hemington Wealth Management now owns 503 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $87,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. increased its stake in Discover Financial Services by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 9,248 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,602,000 after buying an additional 56 shares during the period. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. lifted its position in Discover Financial Services by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. now owns 6,158 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,067,000 after buying an additional 57 shares in the last quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. grew its holdings in shares of Discover Financial Services by 4.2% during the 4th quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 1,411 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $244,000 after acquiring an additional 57 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Invst LLC grew its holdings in shares of Discover Financial Services by 0.9% during the 3rd quarter. Invst LLC now owns 7,253 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,018,000 after acquiring an additional 62 shares in the last quarter. 86.94% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently issued reports on DFS shares. Barclays lifted their price objective on Discover Financial Services from $186.00 to $209.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Discover Financial Services from $185.00 to $214.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on shares of Discover Financial Services from $193.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. UBS Group upgraded shares of Discover Financial Services from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the company from $150.00 to $239.00 in a report on Monday, January 13th. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of Discover Financial Services from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $188.40.

Discover Financial Services Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE DFS opened at $159.91 on Friday. Discover Financial Services has a 12 month low of $119.95 and a 12 month high of $205.76. The company has a market cap of $40.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.02, a P/E/G ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 1.20. The business’s 50 day moving average is $171.42 and its two-hundred day moving average is $172.34. 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 (NYSE:DFS) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The financial services provider reported $5.11 EPS for the quarter, beating 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, equities analysts expect that Discover Financial Services will post 13.88 EPS for the current year.

Discover Financial Services Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 6th. Investors of record on Friday, May 23rd will be given a dividend of $0.70 per share. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.75%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 23rd. Discover Financial Services’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 17.54%.

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.