2,721 Shares in Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) Purchased by SpiderRock Advisors LLC

SpiderRock Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) during the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm acquired 2,721 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $328,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of DFS. Vest Financial LLC raised its stake in shares of Discover Financial Services by 19.8% in the 1st quarter. Vest Financial LLC now owns 145,824 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $19,116,000 after purchasing an additional 24,071 shares in the last quarter. Perigon Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Discover Financial Services during the first quarter valued at approximately $213,000. Benjamin Edwards Inc. lifted its holdings in Discover Financial Services by 75.4% during the 1st quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 1,708 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $224,000 after buying an additional 734 shares during the last quarter. Seascape Capital Management grew its position in shares of Discover Financial Services by 6.1% in the 1st quarter. Seascape Capital Management now owns 28,201 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,697,000 after acquiring an additional 1,611 shares in the last quarter. Finally, YHB Investment Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Discover Financial Services in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $116,000. 86.94% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on DFS shares. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Discover Financial Services from $105.00 to $135.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Discover Financial Services from $120.00 to $123.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, April 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Discover Financial Services from $110.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. BTIG Research started coverage on shares of Discover Financial Services in a report on Friday, June 7th. They issued a “neutral” rating on the stock. Finally, HSBC upped their target price on Discover Financial Services from $107.00 to $144.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, March 21st. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $126.29.

Discover Financial Services Price Performance

Discover Financial Services stock traded down $2.86 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $129.20. 411,470 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,863,450. Discover Financial Services has a 1-year low of $79.04 and a 1-year high of $133.78. The firm has a market cap of $32.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.06, a P/E/G ratio of 0.80 and a beta of 1.44. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $125.21 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $119.41. The company has a quick ratio of 1.12, a current ratio of 1.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.50.

Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 18th. The financial services provider reported $1.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.98 by ($1.88). Discover Financial Services had a net margin of 10.56% and a return on equity of 17.07%. The company had revenue of $4.21 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.07 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $3.58 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that Discover Financial Services will post 11.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Discover Financial Services Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 6th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 23rd were paid a $0.70 dividend. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.17%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, May 22nd. Discover Financial Services’s dividend payout ratio is presently 31.93%.

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; private student loans, 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.