Private Advisor Group LLC Has $2.57 Million Holdings in Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS)

Private Advisor Group LLC increased its holdings in Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) by 12.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 14,811 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 1,630 shares during the period. Private Advisor Group LLC’s holdings in Discover Financial Services were worth $2,566,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in DFS. Blue Trust Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Discover Financial Services by 115.7% during the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,234 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $161,000 after purchasing an additional 662 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Discover Financial Services during the third quarter worth about $21,169,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its holdings in Discover Financial Services by 2.6% in the 3rd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 26,674 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,742,000 after buying an additional 685 shares during the period. Dakota Wealth Management bought a new position in Discover Financial Services in the 3rd quarter valued at about $358,000. Finally, Ballentine Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Discover Financial Services by 27.2% in the 3rd quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 4,213 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $591,000 after buying an additional 900 shares in the last quarter. 86.94% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Discover Financial Services Stock Performance

NYSE DFS opened at $193.54 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $48.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.13, a PEG ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 1.46. The company has a quick ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09. Discover Financial Services has a twelve month low of $118.74 and a twelve month high of $205.76. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $187.21 and a 200 day simple moving average of $163.95.

Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The financial services provider reported $5.11 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.13 by $1.98. Discover Financial Services had a return on equity of 26.18% and a net margin of 17.29%. Sell-side analysts expect that Discover Financial Services will post 13.88 EPS for the current year.

Discover Financial Services Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 6th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 23rd will be given a $0.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 23rd. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.45%. Discover Financial Services’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 17.54%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

DFS has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company lifted 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 note on Friday, January 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Discover Financial Services from $146.00 to $169.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. StockNews.com cut Discover Financial Services from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on shares of 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. Finally, Evercore ISI increased 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 note on Wednesday, October 30th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Discover Financial Services has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $191.91.

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.