Janney Montgomery Scott LLC Buys 611 Shares of Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS)

Janney Montgomery Scott LLC grew its stake in Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) by 3.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 17,826 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 611 shares during the period. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC’s holdings in Discover Financial Services were worth $3,088,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. UMB Bank n.a. raised its position in shares of 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 worth $1,602,000 after acquiring an additional 56 shares in the last quarter. Invst LLC grew its stake in Discover Financial Services by 0.9% during the third quarter. Invst LLC now owns 7,253 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,018,000 after purchasing an additional 62 shares during the period. CTC Alternative Strategies Ltd. increased its holdings in Discover Financial Services by 3.2% in the third quarter. CTC Alternative Strategies Ltd. now owns 2,047 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $287,000 after purchasing an additional 63 shares in the last quarter. Eagle Bluffs Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in Discover Financial Services by 0.5% in the third quarter. Eagle Bluffs Wealth Management LLC now owns 14,501 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,034,000 after buying an additional 67 shares during the period. Finally, Venturi Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings 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 buying an additional 68 shares in the last quarter. 86.94% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Discover Financial Services Stock Down 0.7 %

Shares of NYSE:DFS opened at $201.09 on Friday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $181.02 and its 200 day moving average is $156.47. Discover Financial Services has a 12-month low of $104.08 and a 12-month high of $205.76. The stock has a market cap of $50.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.60, a PEG ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 1.46. 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 issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 22nd. The financial services provider reported $5.11 earnings per share 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%. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Discover Financial Services will post 13.39 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Discover Financial Services Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 6th. Investors of record on Friday, May 23rd will be issued a dividend of $0.70 per share. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.39%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 23rd. Discover Financial Services’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 17.54%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently weighed in on DFS. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on shares of Discover Financial Services from $170.00 to $232.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th. UBS Group raised shares of Discover Financial Services from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $150.00 to $239.00 in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective 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. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on Discover Financial Services from $156.00 to $163.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Discover Financial Services from $185.00 to $214.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $182.64.

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.