Blue Trust Inc. Decreases Stake in Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS)

Blue Trust Inc. lessened its holdings in Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) by 69.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 380 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 854 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc.’s holdings in Discover Financial Services were worth $66,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Private Advisor Group LLC raised its stake in Discover Financial Services by 2.0% in the 3rd quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 13,181 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,849,000 after acquiring an additional 255 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Discover Financial Services in the third quarter valued at approximately $21,169,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its stake in shares of Discover Financial Services by 2.6% during the 3rd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 26,674 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,742,000 after buying an additional 685 shares in the last quarter. Dakota Wealth Management bought a new position in Discover Financial Services in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $358,000. Finally, Ballentine Partners LLC grew its stake in Discover Financial Services by 27.2% in the 3rd quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 4,213 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $591,000 after buying an additional 900 shares in the last quarter. 86.94% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Discover Financial Services Stock Down 0.4 %

Shares of NYSE DFS opened at $193.54 on Tuesday. Discover Financial Services has a 1 year low of $118.74 and a 1 year high of $205.76. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $187.21 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $163.95. The company has a market cap of $48.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.13, a PEG ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 1.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09, a current ratio of 1.09 and a quick ratio of 1.03.

Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 22nd. The financial services provider reported $5.11 earnings per share (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%. Research analysts anticipate that Discover Financial Services will post 13.88 earnings per share for the current year.

Discover Financial Services Dividend Announcement

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. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 23rd. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.45%. Discover Financial Services’s payout ratio is 17.54%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the company. UBS Group upgraded Discover Financial Services from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $150.00 to $239.00 in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Discover Financial Services from $186.00 to $209.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective 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. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Discover Financial Services from $185.00 to $214.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on shares of Discover Financial Services from $193.00 to $210.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Nine 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, Discover Financial Services has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $191.91.

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.