Alley Investment Management Company LLC Sells 19,182 Shares of Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS)

Alley Investment Management Company LLC trimmed its holdings in Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) by 24.4% in the first quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 59,433 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 19,182 shares during the period. Alley Investment Management Company LLC’s holdings in Discover Financial Services were worth $10,145,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its position in Discover Financial Services by 2.9% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 4,378 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $758,000 after purchasing an additional 125 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Discover Financial Services during the 4th quarter worth about $385,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Discover Financial Services by 27.2% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,924 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $332,000 after buying an additional 412 shares during the period. Modera Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in Discover Financial Services by 4.7% in the 4th quarter. Modera Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,712 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $470,000 after buying an additional 121 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Jones Financial Companies Lllp raised its holdings in Discover Financial Services by 67.8% in the 4th quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 7,049 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,221,000 after acquiring an additional 2,849 shares during the period. 86.94% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Discover Financial Services Stock Performance

DFS traded down $2.73 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $197.76. The company had a trading volume of 31,289,322 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,839,717. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $195.29 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $183.69. Discover Financial Services has a 12-month low of $122.37 and a 12-month high of $207.42. The stock has a market cap of $49.77 billion, a PE ratio of 12.39, a P/E/G ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 1.16. 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 posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The financial services provider reported $4.25 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.33 by $0.92. The business had revenue of $4.25 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.25 billion. Discover Financial Services had a return on equity of 26.18% and a net margin of 17.29%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.10 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Discover Financial Services will post 13.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Truist Financial boosted their price objective on Discover Financial Services from $219.00 to $229.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, April 25th. Wall Street Zen cut Discover Financial Services from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. Argus raised Discover Financial Services to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, April 25th. TD Securities cut their target price on Discover Financial Services from $188.00 to $184.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on Discover Financial Services from $169.00 to $129.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $191.64.

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.