LPL Financial LLC Acquires 39,545 Shares of Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS)

LPL Financial LLC raised its holdings in Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) by 29.3% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 174,282 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 39,545 shares during the quarter. LPL Financial LLC’s holdings in Discover Financial Services were worth $30,191,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Discover Financial Services in the third quarter valued at approximately $30,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in Discover Financial Services in the 4th quarter valued at $33,000. Flagship Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Discover Financial Services during the 4th quarter valued at $34,000. Grove Bank & Trust grew its holdings in shares of Discover Financial Services by 78.1% during the 4th quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 203 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 89 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bfsg LLC bought a new position in shares of Discover Financial Services in the fourth quarter worth $35,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.94% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on DFS shares. Truist Financial cut their price objective on shares of Discover Financial Services from $262.00 to $219.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, March 21st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on shares of Discover Financial Services from $170.00 to $232.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, December 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Discover Financial Services from $146.00 to $169.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. UBS Group raised Discover Financial Services from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the company from $150.00 to $239.00 in a report on Monday, January 13th. Finally, Barclays boosted their price target on Discover Financial Services from $186.00 to $209.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $192.40.

Discover Financial Services Stock Performance

Discover Financial Services stock opened at $158.23 on Friday. The business has a 50 day moving average of $184.39 and a 200-day moving average of $170.03. The company has a market capitalization of $39.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.91, a P/E/G ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 1.45. Discover Financial Services has a 1 year low of $119.31 and a 1 year high of $205.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09, a current ratio of 1.09 and a quick ratio of 1.03.

Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The financial services provider reported $5.11 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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%. On average, equities research analysts predict that Discover Financial Services will post 13.88 earnings per share for the current year.

Discover Financial Services Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 6th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 23rd will be issued a dividend of $0.70 per share. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.77%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 23rd. Discover Financial Services’s payout ratio is presently 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.