Quantum Financial Advisors LLC Acquires Shares of 1,261 Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS)

Quantum Financial Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 1,261 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $218,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Discover Financial Services by 506.5% in the 3rd quarter. DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. now owns 188 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 157 shares during the period. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. purchased a new position in Discover Financial Services during the third quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. lifted its holdings in Discover Financial Services by 37.1% in the third quarter. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. now owns 292 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $41,000 after acquiring an additional 79 shares during the period. Venturi Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in Discover Financial Services by 27.4% in the 3rd quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 316 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $44,000 after purchasing an additional 68 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Friedenthal Financial acquired a new position in shares of Discover Financial Services in the 4th quarter valued at $51,000. 86.94% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Discover Financial Services Trading Up 3.8 %

Shares of Discover Financial Services stock opened at $176.06 on Tuesday. 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 stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $175.82 and its 200-day simple moving average is $151.06. The stock has a market cap of $44.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.21, a P/E/G ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 1.45. Discover Financial Services has a 1-year low of $96.46 and a 1-year high of $188.26.

Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 16th. The financial services provider reported $3.69 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.28 by $0.41. Discover Financial Services had a return on equity of 21.38% and a net margin of 13.78%. The company had revenue of $5.91 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.36 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.59 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Discover Financial Services will post 13.43 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Discover Financial Services Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 5th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 21st were given 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%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

DFS has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. StockNews.com cut shares of Discover Financial Services from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Discover Financial Services from $135.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on Discover Financial Services from $148.00 to $161.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, October 18th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on 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, Evercore ISI increased their target price on 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. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Discover Financial Services has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $165.00.

About Discover Financial Services

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.