Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC Grows Stock Position in Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS)

Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC lifted its stake in Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) by 32.3% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 10,174 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,484 shares during the period. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC’s holdings in Discover Financial Services were worth $1,762,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in DFS. DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Discover Financial Services by 506.5% in the third quarter. DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. now owns 188 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 157 shares during the period. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Discover Financial Services in the third quarter worth $30,000. Grove Bank & Trust boosted its holdings in shares of Discover Financial Services by 78.1% in the fourth quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 203 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 89 shares during the period. Hantz Financial Services Inc. bought a new position in shares of Discover Financial Services in the fourth quarter worth $37,000. Finally, Venturi Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Discover Financial Services by 27.4% in the third quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 316 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $44,000 after acquiring an additional 68 shares during the period. 86.94% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on DFS shares. UBS Group raised Discover Financial Services from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $150.00 to $239.00 in a report on Monday, January 13th. 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 note on Friday, January 24th. StockNews.com lowered Discover Financial Services from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. 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 note on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on Discover Financial Services from $170.00 to $232.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $186.46.

Discover Financial Services Trading Down 0.2 %

Shares of DFS stock opened at $194.95 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $183.54 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $159.60. Discover Financial Services has a 12-month low of $107.10 and a 12-month high of $205.76. The firm has a market cap of $48.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.63 and a beta of 1.46.

Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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 return on equity of 26.18% and a net margin of 17.29%. Equities analysts anticipate that Discover Financial Services will post 13.57 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Discover Financial Services Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 6th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 23rd will be issued a $0.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 23rd. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.44%. Discover Financial Services’s dividend payout ratio is currently 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.