Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) Stock Position Lifted by Schechter Investment Advisors LLC

Schechter Investment Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) by 108.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 8,725 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,538 shares during the period. Schechter Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in Discover Financial Services were worth $981,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in DFS. Prudential PLC grew its position in Discover Financial Services by 127.4% in the first quarter. Prudential PLC now owns 16,749 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,846,000 after acquiring an additional 9,382 shares in the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers grew its position in Discover Financial Services by 8.8% in the first quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 14,977 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,650,000 after acquiring an additional 1,216 shares in the last quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Discover Financial Services by 33.8% during the 1st quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 4,372 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $482,000 after buying an additional 1,104 shares during the period. Baird Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Discover Financial Services by 0.8% during the 1st quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 27,565 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,038,000 after buying an additional 206 shares during the period. Finally, Loomis Sayles & Co. L P boosted its holdings in shares of Discover Financial Services by 5.2% during the 1st quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P now owns 2,961 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $326,000 after buying an additional 146 shares during the period. 86.94% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Discover Financial Services Stock Performance

Shares of DFS stock opened at $128.00 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.49, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a current ratio of 1.13. The company has a market capitalization of $32.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.38 and a beta of 1.45. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $114.65 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $101.46. Discover Financial Services has a 52 week low of $79.04 and a 52 week high of $128.03.

Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 18th. The financial services provider reported $1.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.50 by ($0.96). Discover Financial Services had a net margin of 14.30% and a return on equity of 22.24%. The business had revenue of $4.20 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.10 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $3.77 earnings per share. Discover Financial Services’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect that Discover Financial Services will post 11.13 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Discover Financial Services Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 7th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 22nd were issued a dividend of $0.70 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 21st. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.19%. Discover Financial Services’s payout ratio is 24.89%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Discover Financial Services news, CFO John Greene sold 35,191 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $106.51, for a total value of $3,748,193.41. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 18,592 shares in the company, valued at $1,980,233.92. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.69% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

DFS has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of Discover Financial Services from $127.00 to $168.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 23rd. Barclays cut their target price on shares of Discover Financial Services from $124.00 to $112.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 19th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their target price on shares of Discover Financial Services from $139.00 to $121.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 19th. HSBC upped their target price on shares of Discover Financial Services from $107.00 to $144.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 21st. Finally, Stephens reiterated an “equal weight” rating and set a $98.00 target price on shares of Discover Financial Services in a research note on Thursday, December 14th. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $121.83.

About Discover Financial Services

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.