Venturi Wealth Management LLC Acquires 68 Shares of Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS)

Venturi Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) by 27.4% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 316 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 68 shares during the quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Discover Financial Services were worth $44,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. grew its holdings in Discover Financial Services by 2.6% during the 1st quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. now owns 4,451 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $584,000 after buying an additional 114 shares in the last quarter. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Discover Financial Services during the 1st quarter worth approximately $214,000. Connors Investor Services Inc. lifted its stake in Discover Financial Services by 1.2% in the 1st quarter. Connors Investor Services Inc. now owns 20,569 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,696,000 after purchasing an additional 250 shares in the last quarter. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board boosted its holdings in Discover Financial Services by 7.4% in the 1st quarter. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board now owns 6,346 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $832,000 after purchasing an additional 438 shares during the period. Finally, Invesco LLC purchased a new position in shares of Discover Financial Services during the 1st quarter valued at $201,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.94% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on DFS shares. Barclays increased their price objective on Discover Financial Services from $135.00 to $137.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, July 19th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on Discover Financial Services from $148.00 to $161.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, October 18th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Discover Financial Services from $152.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on shares of Discover Financial Services from $156.00 to $163.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Discover Financial Services from $132.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, July 19th. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $138.81.

Discover Financial Services Stock Performance

Shares of DFS stock opened at $176.02 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $44.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.21, a PEG ratio of 1.13 and a beta of 1.41. Discover Financial Services has a fifty-two week low of $84.03 and a fifty-two week high of $188.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a current ratio of 1.08. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $146.95 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $135.58.

Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 16th. The financial services provider reported $3.69 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.28 by $0.41. Discover Financial Services had a net margin of 13.78% and a return on equity of 21.38%. The company had revenue of $5.91 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.36 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.59 EPS. Analysts expect that Discover Financial Services will post 13.22 earnings per share for the current year.

Discover Financial Services Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 5th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 21st will be issued a dividend of $0.70 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 21st. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.59%. Discover Financial Services’s dividend payout ratio is presently 22.60%.

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.