Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) Shares Sold by Vaughan David Investments LLC IL

Vaughan David Investments LLC IL cut its holdings in Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) by 1.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 34,426 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 450 shares during the quarter. Vaughan David Investments LLC IL’s holdings in Discover Financial Services were worth $5,964,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of DFS. National Pension Service increased its stake in shares of Discover Financial Services by 14.8% during the third quarter. National Pension Service now owns 439,756 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $61,693,000 after acquiring an additional 56,814 shares during the period. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Discover Financial Services by 10.5% during the third quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 115,487 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $16,202,000 after acquiring an additional 10,946 shares during the period. Brookstone Capital Management purchased a new stake in shares of Discover Financial Services in the fourth quarter valued at about $282,000. Meyer Handelman Co. purchased a new stake in shares of Discover Financial Services in the fourth quarter valued at about $239,000. Finally, Janney Montgomery Scott LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Discover Financial Services in the third quarter valued at about $2,415,000. 86.94% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have issued reports on DFS. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on shares of Discover Financial Services from $170.00 to $232.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Discover Financial Services from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Discover Financial Services from $185.00 to $214.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Truist Financial upped their price target on shares of Discover Financial Services from $233.00 to $262.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Discover Financial Services from $186.00 to $209.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Discover Financial Services currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $191.91.

Discover Financial Services Price Performance

Discover Financial Services stock opened at $193.54 on Tuesday. Discover Financial Services has a 52-week low of $118.74 and a 52-week high of $205.76. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $187.21 and a 200-day moving average of $163.95. The firm has a market capitalization of $48.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.13, a PEG ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 1.46. The company has a quick ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09.

Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 22nd. The financial services provider reported $5.11 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.13 by $1.98. Discover Financial Services had a net margin of 17.29% and a return on equity of 26.18%. As a group, analysts predict that Discover Financial Services will post 13.88 EPS 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. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 23rd will be paid a $0.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 23rd. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.45%. 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.