1,203 Shares in Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) Purchased by Patriot Financial Group Insurance Agency LLC

Patriot Financial Group Insurance Agency LLC bought a new stake in Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 1,203 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $208,000.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. increased its stake in Discover Financial Services by 506.5% in the 3rd quarter. DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. now owns 188 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 157 shares in the last quarter. Grove Bank & Trust grew its holdings in Discover Financial Services by 78.1% in the fourth quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 203 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 89 shares during the last quarter. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Discover Financial Services in the third quarter valued at $30,000. Decker Retirement Planning Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Discover Financial Services during the 4th quarter worth $47,000. Finally, Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. boosted its position in shares of Discover Financial Services by 37.1% in the 3rd quarter. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. now owns 292 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $41,000 after buying an additional 79 shares in the last quarter. 86.94% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have weighed in on DFS. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Discover Financial Services from $186.00 to $209.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective 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. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on Discover Financial Services from $193.00 to $210.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. StockNews.com cut Discover Financial Services from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, UBS Group raised Discover Financial Services from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $150.00 to $239.00 in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $182.64.

Discover Financial Services Price Performance

Discover Financial Services stock opened at $201.13 on Thursday. Discover Financial Services has a 1 year low of $104.08 and a 1 year high of $204.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a current ratio of 1.10. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $179.90 and a 200 day moving average price of $155.83. The company has a market cap of $50.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.60, a PEG ratio of 1.15 and a beta of 1.46.

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, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.13 by $1.98. Discover Financial Services had a return on equity of 27.52% and a net margin of 17.29%. Sell-side analysts predict that Discover Financial Services will post 12.82 earnings per share for the current year.

Discover Financial Services Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 6th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 23rd will be paid a $0.70 dividend. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.39%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 23rd. 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.