Global Retirement Partners LLC Buys 6,429 Shares of Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS)

Global Retirement Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) by 66.9% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 16,032 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 6,429 shares during the quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC’s holdings in Discover Financial Services were worth $2,777,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Bfsg LLC bought a new position in Discover Financial Services during the 4th quarter valued at about $35,000. Grove Bank & Trust lifted its stake in Discover Financial Services by 78.1% during the 4th quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 203 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 89 shares during the period. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. bought a new position in Discover Financial Services during the 3rd quarter valued at about $30,000. Hantz Financial Services Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Discover Financial Services during the 4th quarter valued at about $37,000. Finally, Decker Retirement Planning Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Discover Financial Services during the 4th quarter valued at about $47,000. Institutional investors own 86.94% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on DFS shares. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on shares of Discover Financial Services from $193.00 to $210.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Discover Financial Services from $146.00 to $169.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Discover Financial Services from $186.00 to $209.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Discover Financial Services from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of 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 equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $186.46.

Discover Financial Services Trading Up 3.6 %

Discover Financial Services stock opened at $203.34 on Thursday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $186.02 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $162.17. Discover Financial Services has a 12 month low of $118.74 and a 12 month high of $205.76. The company has a current ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09. The firm has a market cap of $51.10 billion, a PE ratio of 12.74, a P/E/G ratio of 0.60 and a beta of 1.46.

Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The financial services provider reported $5.11 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 anticipate that Discover Financial Services will post 13.84 earnings per share for the current year.

Discover Financial Services Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.38%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 23rd. Discover Financial Services’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.