Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) Shares Sold by Amalgamated Bank

Amalgamated Bank lowered its position in shares of Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) by 2.5% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 48,038 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 1,243 shares during the quarter. Amalgamated Bank’s holdings in Discover Financial Services were worth $8,322,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Private Advisor Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Discover Financial Services by 2.0% during the third quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 13,181 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,849,000 after purchasing an additional 255 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Discover Financial Services during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $21,169,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its stake in Discover Financial Services by 2.6% during the 3rd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 26,674 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,742,000 after acquiring an additional 685 shares during the period. Allworth Financial LP boosted its holdings in shares of Discover Financial Services by 22.6% in the 3rd quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 4,808 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $675,000 after acquiring an additional 886 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Discover Financial Services by 23.3% in the third quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 20,867 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,906,000 after acquiring an additional 3,949 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.94% of the company’s stock.

Discover Financial Services Trading Up 1.4 %

Shares of DFS stock opened at $190.36 on Thursday. Discover Financial Services has a 1-year low of $118.74 and a 1-year high of $205.76. The company has a market cap of $47.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.93, a PEG ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 1.46. 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 stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $187.93 and a 200-day simple moving average of $164.56.

Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 22nd. The financial services provider reported $5.11 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 research analysts expect that Discover Financial Services will post 13.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Discover Financial Services Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 6th. Investors of record on Friday, May 23rd will be paid a $0.70 dividend. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.47%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 23rd. Discover Financial Services’s dividend payout ratio is presently 17.54%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on DFS shares. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Discover Financial Services from $186.00 to $209.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Discover Financial Services from $185.00 to $214.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. 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 lifted their price target on Discover Financial Services from $170.00 to $232.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of Discover Financial Services from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Nine 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 presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $191.91.

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.