390 Shares in Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) Bought by BankPlus Trust Department

BankPlus Trust Department acquired a new position in shares of Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 390 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $68,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of DFS. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. acquired a new position in Discover Financial Services during the third quarter worth $30,000. Grove Bank & Trust grew its holdings in Discover Financial Services by 78.1% during 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. Bfsg LLC acquired a new position in Discover Financial Services during the fourth quarter worth $35,000. Hantz Financial Services Inc. purchased a new stake in Discover Financial Services during the fourth quarter worth $37,000. Finally, Venturi Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in Discover Financial Services by 27.4% during the third quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 316 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $44,000 after purchasing an additional 68 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.94% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have commented on the company. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on Discover Financial Services from $156.00 to $163.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Discover Financial Services from $146.00 to $169.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price 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 downgraded Discover Financial Services from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Barclays boosted their target price on Discover Financial Services from $186.00 to $209.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $191.91.

Discover Financial Services Stock Down 0.4 %

Shares of NYSE:DFS opened at $193.54 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09. Discover Financial Services has a 52-week low of $118.74 and a 52-week high of $205.76. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $187.21 and its 200-day simple moving average is $163.95. The company has a market capitalization of $48.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.13, a P/E/G ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 1.46.

Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 22nd. The financial services provider reported $5.11 earnings per share (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%. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Discover Financial Services will post 13.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Discover Financial Services Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced 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. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 23rd. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.45%. Discover Financial Services’s payout ratio is currently 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.