Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) Shares Sold by Heritage Investors Management Corp

Heritage Investors Management Corp trimmed its holdings in Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) by 0.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 26,286 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 174 shares during the period. Heritage Investors Management Corp’s holdings in Discover Financial Services were worth $2,955,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in DFS. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC purchased a new position in Discover Financial Services during the 4th quarter worth $28,000. MeadowBrook Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Discover Financial Services during the fourth quarter worth $31,000. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Discover Financial Services during the 4th quarter worth $35,000. First Command Advisory Services Inc. purchased a new stake in Discover Financial Services during the third quarter worth about $39,000. Finally, Larson Financial Group LLC grew its position in Discover Financial Services by 105.8% during the third quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 465 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $40,000 after buying an additional 239 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.94% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

DFS has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on Discover Financial Services from $137.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, April 19th. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price objective on Discover Financial Services from $139.00 to $121.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 19th. Wolfe Research restated a “peer perform” rating on shares of Discover Financial Services in a report on Wednesday, February 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Discover Financial Services from $110.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised shares of Discover Financial Services from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $105.00 to $133.00 in a research report on Thursday, February 8th. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Discover Financial Services currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $126.29.

Discover Financial Services Price Performance

Shares of Discover Financial Services stock traded up $0.47 during trading on Thursday, hitting $124.04. The stock had a trading volume of 1,135,119 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,093,280. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.50, a current ratio of 1.12 and a quick ratio of 1.12. The business has a fifty day moving average of $124.50 and a two-hundred day moving average of $109.39. Discover Financial Services has a fifty-two week low of $79.04 and a fifty-two week high of $131.65. The firm has a market cap of $31.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.14, a PEG ratio of 0.72 and a beta of 1.43.

Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 18th. The financial services provider reported $1.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.98 by ($1.88). The business had revenue of $4.21 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.07 billion. Discover Financial Services had a return on equity of 17.07% and a net margin of 10.56%. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $3.58 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Discover Financial Services will post 11.86 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 Thursday, June 6th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 23rd will be issued a dividend of $0.70 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 22nd. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.26%. Discover Financial Services’s dividend payout ratio is currently 31.93%.

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; private student loans, 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.