Dana Investment Advisors Inc. Trims Position in Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS)

Dana Investment Advisors Inc. trimmed its position in Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) by 19.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 44,719 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 10,906 shares during the period. Dana Investment Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Discover Financial Services were worth $7,747,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Arizona State Retirement System lifted its stake in shares of Discover Financial Services by 1.6% in the 4th quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 72,924 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $12,633,000 after purchasing an additional 1,128 shares during the period. Proficio Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Discover Financial Services during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $209,000. Atria Investments Inc raised its position in Discover Financial Services by 10.9% in the fourth quarter. Atria Investments Inc now owns 14,177 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,456,000 after acquiring an additional 1,394 shares during the period. Assetmark Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Discover Financial Services by 17.3% during the 4th quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 677 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $117,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Smithfield Trust Co grew its position in shares of Discover Financial Services by 78.5% during the 4th quarter. Smithfield Trust Co now owns 821 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $142,000 after acquiring an additional 361 shares during the period. 86.94% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

DFS has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Discover Financial Services from $146.00 to $169.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on Discover Financial Services from $170.00 to $232.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Truist Financial lifted their price objective on Discover Financial Services from $233.00 to $262.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. 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. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Discover Financial Services from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Discover Financial Services currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $191.91.

Discover Financial Services Trading Up 1.4 %

Discover Financial Services stock opened at $181.28 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09, a current ratio of 1.09 and a quick ratio of 1.03. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $189.27 and its 200-day moving average price is $166.62. Discover Financial Services has a 1 year low of $118.74 and a 1 year high of $205.76. The stock has a market cap of $45.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.36, a PEG ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 1.46.

Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The financial services provider reported $5.11 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.13 by $1.98. Discover Financial Services had a net margin of 17.29% and a return on equity of 26.18%. On average, equities analysts predict that Discover Financial Services will post 13.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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 given a $0.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 23rd. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.54%. Discover Financial Services’s dividend payout ratio is currently 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.