Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. Purchases 2,513 Shares of Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS)

Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. grew its position in Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) by 34.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 9,755 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,513 shares during the period. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc.’s holdings in Discover Financial Services were worth $1,097,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Flputnam Investment Management Co. grew its holdings in shares of Discover Financial Services by 7.9% in the 3rd quarter. Flputnam Investment Management Co. now owns 2,646 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $229,000 after acquiring an additional 193 shares in the last quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC raised its stake in Discover Financial Services by 335.4% in the fourth quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC now owns 63,796 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $7,171,000 after buying an additional 49,145 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its holdings in Discover Financial Services by 1.8% during the 4th quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 916,367 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $103,000,000 after purchasing an additional 16,532 shares during the last quarter. Vest Financial LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Discover Financial Services by 18.8% during the 4th quarter. Vest Financial LLC now owns 121,753 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $13,685,000 after buying an additional 19,283 shares during the period. Finally, Raymond James & Associates lifted its position in Discover Financial Services by 27.1% during the fourth quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 339,717 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $38,184,000 after acquiring an additional 72,452 shares during the last quarter. 86.94% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Discover Financial Services Price Performance

DFS stock opened at $125.36 on Tuesday. Discover Financial Services has a one year low of $79.04 and a one year high of $131.65. 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 stock has a market cap of $31.42 billion, a PE ratio of 14.29, a P/E/G ratio of 0.72 and a beta of 1.43. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $124.48 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $109.00.

Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 18th. The financial services provider reported $1.10 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.98 by ($1.88). The firm had revenue of $4.21 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.07 billion. Discover Financial Services had a net margin of 10.56% and a return on equity of 17.07%. During the same period last year, the company posted $3.58 earnings per share. On average, analysts predict that Discover Financial Services will post 11.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Discover Financial Services Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 6th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 23rd will be issued a $0.70 dividend. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.23%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 22nd. Discover Financial Services’s payout ratio is 31.93%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have commented on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Discover Financial Services from $110.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on shares of Discover Financial Services from $127.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 23rd. Seaport Res Ptn downgraded Discover Financial Services from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, March 15th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their price objective on Discover Financial Services from $140.00 to $111.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 19th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their target price on Discover Financial Services from $139.00 to $121.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 19th. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $126.29.

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.