Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) Shares Sold by Signet Financial Management LLC

Signet Financial Management LLC trimmed its position in Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) by 0.5% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 32,240 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 171 shares during the period. Signet Financial Management LLC’s holdings in Discover Financial Services were worth $5,585,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Acadian Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Discover Financial Services by 3,445.0% during the second quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 5,991 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $783,000 after purchasing an additional 5,822 shares during the last quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. grew its holdings in Discover Financial Services by 0.7% during the second quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 25,074 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,280,000 after acquiring an additional 182 shares during the period. Meeder Advisory Services Inc. raised its position in Discover Financial Services by 21.6% during the second quarter. Meeder Advisory Services Inc. now owns 6,959 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $910,000 after acquiring an additional 1,238 shares in the last quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Discover Financial Services by 1.7% in the second quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 6,172 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $807,000 after acquiring an additional 102 shares during the period. Finally, Thoroughbred Financial Services LLC acquired a new position in Discover Financial Services in the second quarter valued at approximately $266,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.94% of the company’s stock.

Discover Financial Services Trading Up 3.8 %

Shares of NYSE:DFS traded up $6.42 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $176.06. 1,965,610 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,290,259. Discover Financial Services has a 1 year low of $96.46 and a 1 year high of $188.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28, a current ratio of 1.08 and a quick ratio of 1.04. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $175.28 and its 200 day simple moving average is $150.70. The firm has a market cap of $44.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.21, a P/E/G ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 1.45.

Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 16th. The financial services provider reported $3.69 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.28 by $0.41. The company had revenue of $5.91 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.36 billion. Discover Financial Services had a return on equity of 21.38% and a net margin of 13.78%. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.59 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Discover Financial Services will post 13.43 EPS for the current year.

Discover Financial Services Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 5th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 21st were paid a dividend of $0.70 per share. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.59%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, November 21st. Discover Financial Services’s payout ratio is currently 22.60%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Discover Financial Services from $160.00 to $185.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on shares of Discover Financial Services from $148.00 to $161.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Friday, October 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Discover Financial Services from $135.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on shares of Discover Financial Services from $170.00 to $232.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Finally, Barclays upgraded Discover Financial Services from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price target for the company from $137.00 to $186.00 in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $165.00.

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.