Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) Shares Purchased by GAMMA Investing LLC

GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in shares of Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) by 19.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 4,645 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 742 shares during the quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC’s holdings in Discover Financial Services were worth $805,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Invst LLC raised its holdings in Discover Financial Services by 0.9% in the third 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. CTC Alternative Strategies Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Discover Financial Services by 3.2% in the 3rd quarter. CTC Alternative Strategies Ltd. now owns 2,047 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $287,000 after purchasing an additional 63 shares in the last quarter. Eagle Bluffs Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Discover Financial Services by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. Eagle Bluffs Wealth Management LLC now owns 14,501 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,034,000 after purchasing an additional 67 shares during the last quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Discover Financial Services by 27.4% during the 3rd quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 316 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $44,000 after purchasing an additional 68 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Inlet Private Wealth LLC grew its stake in shares of Discover Financial Services by 2.4% during the third quarter. Inlet Private Wealth LLC now owns 3,185 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $447,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.94% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have issued reports on DFS. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on Discover Financial Services from $170.00 to $232.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. StockNews.com cut Discover Financial Services from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Evercore ISI increased their price target on shares of Discover Financial Services from $156.00 to $163.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Discover Financial Services from $135.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on shares of Discover Financial Services from $148.00 to $161.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $151.36.

Discover Financial Services Trading Up 1.1 %

NYSE:DFS opened at $176.06 on Friday. Discover Financial Services has a 12-month low of $96.46 and a 12-month high of $188.26. The company has a current ratio of 1.08, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $172.88 and its 200-day simple moving average is $148.67. The firm has a market cap of $44.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.21, a PEG ratio of 1.13 and a beta of 1.45.

Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 16th. The financial services provider reported $3.69 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.28 by $0.41. Discover Financial Services had a net margin of 13.78% and a return on equity of 21.38%. The company had revenue of $5.91 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.36 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.59 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Discover Financial Services will post 13.43 EPS for the current year.

Discover Financial Services Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 5th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 21st were issued a dividend of $0.70 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, November 21st. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.59%. Discover Financial Services’s dividend payout ratio is currently 22.60%.

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; 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.