Woodmont Investment Counsel LLC Buys Shares of 1,654 Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS)

Woodmont Investment Counsel LLC purchased a new position in shares of Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 1,654 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $287,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Discover Financial Services during the fourth quarter worth $33,000. Flagship Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Discover Financial Services in the fourth quarter valued at $34,000. Bfsg LLC bought a new position in Discover Financial Services during the 4th quarter worth $35,000. Grove Bank & Trust lifted its holdings in Discover Financial Services by 78.1% during the 4th quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 203 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 89 shares during the period. Finally, Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of Discover Financial Services in the 3rd quarter valued at about $30,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.94% of the company’s stock.

Discover Financial Services Stock Performance

Shares of DFS opened at $170.22 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $186.06 and a 200-day moving average of $169.36. Discover Financial Services has a one year low of $119.31 and a one year high of $205.76. 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 company has a market cap of $42.83 billion, a PE ratio of 10.67, a P/E/G ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 1.45.

Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 22nd. The financial services provider reported $5.11 EPS for the quarter, beating 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%. On average, equities research analysts predict that Discover Financial Services will post 13.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Discover Financial Services Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 6th. Shareholders 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 dividend yield of 1.64%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 23rd. Discover Financial Services’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 17.54%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently commented on DFS shares. Barclays lifted their price objective on Discover Financial Services from $186.00 to $209.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on shares of Discover Financial Services from $170.00 to $232.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Discover Financial Services from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. UBS Group upgraded Discover Financial Services from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $150.00 to $239.00 in a report on Monday, January 13th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted 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. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $192.40.

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.