Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) Shares Sold by Foster & Motley Inc.

Foster & Motley Inc. cut its stake in shares of Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) by 21.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 39,225 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 10,556 shares during the quarter. Foster & Motley Inc.’s holdings in Discover Financial Services were worth $4,409,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Simon Quick Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Discover Financial Services by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. Simon Quick Advisors LLC now owns 6,397 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $719,000 after purchasing an additional 109 shares in the last quarter. Czech National Bank boosted its holdings in Discover Financial Services by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 43,796 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $4,923,000 after purchasing an additional 110 shares in the last quarter. Glenview Trust co boosted its holdings in Discover Financial Services by 0.5% in the third quarter. Glenview Trust co now owns 24,363 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,111,000 after purchasing an additional 130 shares in the last quarter. Patron Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Discover Financial Services by 3.5% in the third quarter. Patron Partners LLC now owns 4,117 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $357,000 after purchasing an additional 139 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mackenzie Financial Corp boosted its holdings in Discover Financial Services by 0.5% in the third quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 28,137 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,455,000 after purchasing an additional 146 shares in the last quarter. 86.94% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Discover Financial Services Trading Down 0.0 %

Shares of DFS stock opened at $126.64 on Tuesday. Discover Financial Services has a fifty-two week low of $79.04 and a fifty-two week high of $131.65. The stock has a market cap of $31.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.45, a P/E/G ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 1.45. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $122.34 and a 200-day simple moving average of $106.44. The company has a quick ratio of 1.13, a current ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.49.

Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 18th. The financial services provider reported $1.10 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.98 by ($1.88). Discover Financial Services had a net margin of 10.56% and a return on equity of 16.74%. The firm had revenue of $4.21 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.07 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $3.58 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Discover Financial Services will post 11.34 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Discover Financial Services Dividend Announcement

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 given a $0.70 dividend. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.21%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 22nd. Discover Financial Services’s dividend payout ratio is currently 31.93%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO John Greene sold 35,191 shares of Discover Financial Services stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $106.51, for a total transaction of $3,748,193.41. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 18,592 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,980,233.92. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.50% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have weighed in on DFS. Morgan Stanley upgraded Discover Financial Services from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $105.00 to $133.00 in a research note on Thursday, February 8th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on Discover Financial Services from $137.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday. Wolfe Research reiterated a “peer perform” rating on shares of Discover Financial Services in a research note on Wednesday, February 21st. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on Discover Financial Services from $117.00 to $140.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 22nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Discover Financial Services from $105.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Discover Financial Services currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $126.29.

Discover Financial Services Company 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; 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.