Proficio Capital Partners LLC Makes New $209,000 Investment in Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS)

Proficio Capital Partners LLC bought a new position in Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 1,207 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $209,000.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Hemington Wealth Management lifted its position in shares of Discover Financial Services by 11.0% in the 4th quarter. Hemington Wealth Management now owns 503 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $87,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. increased its stake in shares of Discover Financial Services by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 9,248 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,602,000 after purchasing an additional 56 shares during the last quarter. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. lifted its position in shares of Discover Financial Services by 0.9% in the fourth 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 during the last quarter. Invst LLC raised its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 62 shares during the period. Finally, CTC Alternative Strategies Ltd. lifted its position in Discover Financial Services by 3.2% during the 3rd quarter. CTC Alternative Strategies Ltd. now owns 2,047 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $287,000 after acquiring an additional 63 shares during the last quarter. 86.94% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have issued reports on the stock. UBS Group upgraded shares of Discover Financial Services from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $150.00 to $239.00 in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Barclays upped their target price 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. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on Discover Financial Services from $170.00 to $232.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. Truist Financial reduced their price objective on Discover Financial Services from $262.00 to $219.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, March 21st. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of Discover Financial Services from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $192.40.

Discover Financial Services Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE DFS opened at $162.91 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $40.99 billion, a PE ratio of 10.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 1.45. 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 has a 52 week low of $119.31 and a 52 week high of $205.76. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $184.97 and a 200 day moving average price of $169.58.

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 return on equity of 26.18% and a net margin of 17.29%. Analysts predict that Discover Financial Services will post 13.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Discover Financial Services Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 6th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 23rd will be given a dividend of $0.70 per share. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.72%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 23rd. Discover Financial Services’s payout ratio is 17.54%.

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.