Flavin Financial Services Inc. Invests $937,000 in Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS)

Flavin Financial Services Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 5,411 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $937,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Cetera Investment Advisers lifted its holdings in Discover Financial Services by 0.8% during the 2nd quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 69,539 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $9,097,000 after purchasing an additional 549 shares during the last quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB lifted its holdings in Discover Financial Services by 4.5% during the 3rd quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 73,845 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $10,360,000 after purchasing an additional 3,204 shares during the last quarter. Czech National Bank lifted its holdings in Discover Financial Services by 7.1% during the 3rd quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 51,146 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $7,175,000 after purchasing an additional 3,392 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in Discover Financial Services by 6.7% during the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,903 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $548,000 after purchasing an additional 244 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Miracle Mile Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Discover Financial Services by 4.9% during the 3rd quarter. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC now owns 2,074 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $291,000 after purchasing an additional 96 shares during the last quarter. 86.94% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on shares of Discover Financial Services from $170.00 to $232.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Evercore ISI raised their price objective 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. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Discover Financial Services from $185.00 to $214.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Truist Financial raised their price objective on shares of Discover Financial Services from $233.00 to $262.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of Discover Financial Services from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $182.64.

Discover Financial Services Price Performance

DFS stock opened at $198.60 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $49.91 billion, a PE ratio of 12.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 1.46. The company’s 50-day moving average is $181.46 and its 200-day moving average is $157.13. 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 has a 1 year low of $104.08 and a 1 year high of $205.76.

Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 22nd. The financial services provider reported $5.11 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.13 by $1.98. Discover Financial Services had a net margin of 17.29% and a return on equity of 26.18%. Equities research analysts expect that Discover Financial Services will post 13.39 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Discover Financial Services Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 6th. Investors of record on Friday, May 23rd will be given a $0.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 23rd. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.41%. Discover Financial Services’s payout ratio is 17.54%.

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; 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.