Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) Shares Sold by Avantax Advisory Services Inc.

Avantax Advisory Services Inc. lowered its position in Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) by 19.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 6,196 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 1,505 shares during the quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc.’s holdings in Discover Financial Services were worth $1,073,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in Discover Financial Services by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 10,498,044 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,472,771,000 after buying an additional 80,601 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC raised its stake in shares of Discover Financial Services by 8.0% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 7,493,862 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,051,314,000 after purchasing an additional 558,227 shares in the last quarter. C2P Capital Advisory Group LLC d.b.a. Prosperity Capital Advisors acquired a new stake in shares of Discover Financial Services in the 4th quarter valued at about $351,766,000. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its stake in shares of Discover Financial Services by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 1,834,705 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $257,391,000 after purchasing an additional 12,255 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Discover Financial Services by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,738,804 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $301,213,000 after purchasing an additional 10,528 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.94% of the company’s stock.

Discover Financial Services Price Performance

NYSE DFS opened at $162.05 on Thursday. 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 $40.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 1.45. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $186.51 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $168.49.

Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The financial services provider reported $5.11 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.13 by $1.98. Discover Financial Services had a net margin of 17.29% and a return on equity of 26.18%. Analysts forecast that Discover Financial Services will post 13.88 EPS for the current year.

Discover Financial Services Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 6th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 23rd will be given a $0.70 dividend. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.73%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 23rd. Discover Financial Services’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 17.54%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on DFS. UBS Group upgraded shares of Discover Financial Services from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the company from $150.00 to $239.00 in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Barclays upped 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 note on Friday, January 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Discover Financial Services from $146.00 to $169.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Truist Financial increased their price objective on shares of Discover Financial Services from $233.00 to $262.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of Discover Financial Services from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $191.91.

Discover Financial Services 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.