EP Wealth Advisors LLC Boosts Stake in Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS)

EP Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) by 13.3% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 5,321 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 626 shares during the period. EP Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Discover Financial Services were worth $698,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Partnership Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Discover Financial Services in the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. MeadowBrook Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Discover Financial Services in the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. Riverview Trust Co bought a new stake in Discover Financial Services during the 1st quarter worth approximately $34,000. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Discover Financial Services during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Finally, West Paces Advisors Inc. boosted its position in shares of Discover Financial Services by 110.7% in the first quarter. West Paces Advisors Inc. now owns 316 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 166 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 86.94% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on DFS shares. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Discover Financial Services from $105.00 to $135.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on Discover Financial Services from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, July 8th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on Discover Financial Services from $145.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 9th. BTIG Research began coverage on Discover Financial Services in a research note on Friday, June 7th. They set a “neutral” rating on the stock. Finally, StockNews.com assumed coverage on Discover Financial Services in a report on Tuesday. They issued a “hold” rating on the stock. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Discover Financial Services presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $131.33.

Discover Financial Services Trading Up 0.5 %

Shares of NYSE:DFS traded up $0.67 during trading on Friday, reaching $142.29. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 827,830 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,825,073. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $128.62 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $122.07. The company has a current ratio of 1.07, a quick ratio of 1.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.50. Discover Financial Services has a 12 month low of $79.04 and a 12 month high of $147.61. The stock has a market capitalization of $35.68 billion, a PE ratio of 16.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.93 and a beta of 1.44.

Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 17th. The financial services provider reported $6.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.06 by $3.00. The business had revenue of $4.54 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.18 billion. Discover Financial Services had a return on equity of 20.53% and a net margin of 12.88%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 17.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $3.54 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Discover Financial Services will post 12.23 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Discover Financial Services Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 5th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 22nd will be given a dividend of $0.70 per share. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.97%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 22nd. Discover Financial Services’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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.