Certuity LLC Invests $251,000 in Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS)

Certuity LLC bought a new stake in Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 1,450 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $251,000.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in DFS. FMR LLC boosted its holdings in Discover Financial Services by 8.0% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 7,493,862 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,051,314,000 after acquiring an additional 558,227 shares during the last quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC boosted its holdings in Discover Financial Services by 1,272.0% in the third quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 265,155 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $37,199,000 after acquiring an additional 245,829 shares during the last quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC acquired a new position in Discover Financial Services in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $39,067,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Discover Financial Services in the third quarter valued at approximately $21,169,000. Finally, KBC Group NV lifted its stake in Discover Financial Services by 19.0% in the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 924,033 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $160,070,000 after buying an additional 147,558 shares during the period. 86.94% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have issued reports on DFS. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on Discover Financial Services from $170.00 to $232.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on Discover Financial Services from $193.00 to $210.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. StockNews.com lowered Discover Financial Services from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on Discover Financial Services from $156.00 to $163.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Barclays boosted their price target on Discover Financial Services from $186.00 to $209.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $186.46.

Discover Financial Services Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:DFS opened at $190.28 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09. The stock has a market cap of $47.82 billion, a PE ratio of 11.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.63 and a beta of 1.46. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $184.11 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $160.17. Discover Financial Services has a 1-year low of $108.24 and a 1-year high of $205.76.

Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The financial services provider reported $5.11 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%. As a group, analysts forecast that Discover Financial Services will post 13.57 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Discover Financial Services Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 6th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 23rd will be issued a $0.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 23rd. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.47%. Discover Financial Services’s dividend payout ratio is currently 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.