Meridian Wealth Management LLC Invests $264,000 in Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS)

Meridian Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 1,523 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $264,000.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in DFS. C2P Capital Advisory Group LLC d.b.a. Prosperity Capital Advisors acquired a new position in shares of Discover Financial Services in the fourth quarter worth $351,766,000. FMR LLC grew its position in shares of Discover Financial Services by 8.0% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 7,493,862 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,051,314,000 after purchasing an additional 558,227 shares during the period. Mizuho Securities USA LLC grew its position in shares of Discover Financial Services by 1,272.0% in the third quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 265,155 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $37,199,000 after purchasing an additional 245,829 shares during the period. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Discover Financial Services in the fourth quarter valued at $39,067,000. Finally, Proficio Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Discover Financial Services in the fourth quarter valued at $36,219,000. 86.94% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on DFS shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Discover Financial Services from $146.00 to $169.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. 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 lifted their price objective on Discover Financial Services from $185.00 to $214.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. StockNews.com downgraded Discover Financial Services from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, UBS Group raised Discover Financial Services from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $150.00 to $239.00 in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $191.91.

Discover Financial Services Stock Up 1.4 %

Shares of DFS stock opened at $181.28 on Thursday. 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 PE ratio of 11.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 1.46. The business’s fifty day moving average is $189.27 and its 200-day moving average is $166.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a current ratio of 1.09.

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%. Equities analysts expect that Discover Financial Services will post 13.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Discover Financial Services Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 6th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 23rd will be given a $0.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 23rd. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.54%. Discover Financial Services’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 17.54%.

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; 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.