Daymark Wealth Partners LLC Buys New Holdings in Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS)

Daymark Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 1,170 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $203,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. National Pension Service grew its position in Discover Financial Services by 14.8% in the 3rd quarter. National Pension Service now owns 439,756 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $61,693,000 after purchasing an additional 56,814 shares during the period. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Discover Financial Services by 10.5% in the third quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 115,487 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $16,202,000 after buying an additional 10,946 shares in the last quarter. William B. Walkup & Associates Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Discover Financial Services during the second quarter valued at about $4,835,000. Meyer Handelman Co. bought a new stake in shares of Discover Financial Services during the fourth quarter worth about $239,000. Finally, Janney Montgomery Scott LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Discover Financial Services in the 3rd quarter worth about $2,415,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.94% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have commented on DFS shares. StockNews.com lowered Discover Financial Services from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday. Barclays increased their price target on Discover Financial Services from $186.00 to $209.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on Discover Financial Services from $193.00 to $210.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Friday. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Discover Financial Services from $185.00 to $214.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday. Finally, Evercore ISI raised their price target on shares of Discover Financial Services from $156.00 to $163.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $180.57.

Discover Financial Services Price Performance

Discover Financial Services stock opened at $201.59 on Friday. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $178.30 and its 200 day simple moving average is $154.01. Discover Financial Services has a 12 month low of $101.71 and a 12 month high of $204.93. The company has a market cap of $50.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.63, a PEG ratio of 1.15 and a beta of 1.46. The company has a current ratio of 1.10, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09.

Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The financial services provider reported $5.11 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 forecast that Discover Financial Services will post 12.82 EPS for the current year.

Discover Financial Services Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced 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. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 23rd. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.39%. Discover Financial Services’s payout ratio is 17.54%.

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.