Quent Capital LLC Buys 326 Shares of Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS)

Quent Capital LLC increased its stake in Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) by 28.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 1,472 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 326 shares during the quarter. Quent Capital LLC’s holdings in Discover Financial Services were worth $255,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Equitec Proprietary Markets LLC bought a new position in Discover Financial Services in the 4th quarter worth $173,000. NORTHSTAR ASSET MANAGEMENT Co LLC bought a new stake in Discover Financial Services during the fourth quarter valued at about $217,000. Compass Financial Services Inc bought a new stake in Discover Financial Services during the fourth quarter valued at about $49,000. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC raised its holdings in Discover Financial Services by 32.3% during the fourth quarter. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC now owns 10,174 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,762,000 after acquiring an additional 2,484 shares during the period. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC raised its holdings in Discover Financial Services by 12.3% during the fourth quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 5,928 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,027,000 after acquiring an additional 648 shares during the period. 86.94% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

DFS has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on Discover Financial Services from $170.00 to $232.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on Discover Financial Services from $193.00 to $210.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. UBS Group raised Discover Financial Services from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the company from $150.00 to $239.00 in a report on Monday, January 13th. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on Discover Financial Services from $156.00 to $163.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted 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. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $186.46.

Discover Financial Services Trading Down 3.3 %

DFS opened at $188.34 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $47.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.80, a P/E/G ratio of 0.63 and a beta of 1.46. Discover Financial Services has a 12 month low of $107.10 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 stock has a 50-day moving average of $183.87 and a 200 day moving average of $159.97.

Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The financial services provider reported $5.11 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.13 by $1.98. Discover Financial Services had a return on equity of 26.18% and a net margin of 17.29%. As a group, research analysts forecast that Discover Financial Services will post 13.57 EPS for the current year.

Discover Financial Services Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 6th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 23rd will be given a dividend of $0.70 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 23rd. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.49%. Discover Financial Services’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 17.54%.

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; 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.