PNC Financial Services Group Inc. Decreases Position in Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS)

PNC Financial Services Group Inc. trimmed its holdings in Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) by 0.4% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 215,647 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 843 shares during the quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc.’s holdings in Discover Financial Services were worth $37,356,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. C2P Capital Advisory Group LLC d.b.a. Prosperity Capital Advisors purchased a new position in shares of Discover Financial Services in the 4th quarter valued at $351,766,000. FMR LLC grew its holdings in shares of Discover Financial Services by 8.0% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 7,493,862 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,051,314,000 after purchasing an additional 558,227 shares during the last quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC grew its holdings in shares of Discover Financial Services by 1,272.0% during the third quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 265,155 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $37,199,000 after purchasing an additional 245,829 shares during the last quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Discover Financial Services during the fourth quarter worth about $39,067,000. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Discover Financial Services in the 4th quarter valued at about $38,489,000. 86.94% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have commented on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on Discover Financial Services from $170.00 to $232.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, December 9th. StockNews.com cut shares of Discover Financial Services from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Discover Financial Services from $186.00 to $209.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. UBS Group upgraded shares of Discover Financial Services from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $150.00 to $239.00 in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Discover Financial Services from $146.00 to $169.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $191.91.

Discover Financial Services Stock Performance

Discover Financial Services stock opened at $167.38 on Monday. Discover Financial Services has a 52 week low of $119.31 and a 52 week high of $205.76. The company has a current ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09. The stock has a market cap of $42.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 1.45. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $189.03 and a 200-day moving average of $167.33.

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

Discover Financial Services Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 6th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 23rd will be given a dividend of $0.70 per share. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.67%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 23rd. Discover Financial Services’s payout ratio is 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.