Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) Shares Acquired by Venturi Wealth Management LLC

Venturi Wealth Management LLC grew its position in Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) by 1,227.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 4,196 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,880 shares during the period. Venturi Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Discover Financial Services were worth $727,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. National Pension Service lifted its stake in shares of Discover Financial Services by 14.8% in the 3rd quarter. National Pension Service now owns 439,756 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $61,693,000 after purchasing an additional 56,814 shares in the last quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its position in Discover Financial Services by 10.5% during the 3rd quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 115,487 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $16,202,000 after acquiring an additional 10,946 shares in the last quarter. Brookstone Capital Management acquired a new position in Discover Financial Services during the 4th quarter worth approximately $282,000. Meyer Handelman Co. acquired a new position in Discover Financial Services during the 4th quarter worth approximately $239,000. Finally, Janney Montgomery Scott LLC acquired a new position in Discover Financial Services during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $2,415,000. 86.94% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently commented on DFS. UBS Group raised Discover Financial Services from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $150.00 to $239.00 in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on Discover Financial Services from $193.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Discover Financial Services from $146.00 to $169.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Truist Financial upped their target price on 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, Evercore ISI upped 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. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Discover Financial Services currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $186.46.

Discover Financial Services Price Performance

Shares of NYSE DFS opened at $203.34 on Thursday. Discover Financial Services has a twelve month low of $118.74 and a twelve month high of $205.76. 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 company has a market capitalization of $51.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.60 and a beta of 1.46. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $186.02 and a 200-day simple moving average of $162.17.

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 analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.13 by $1.98. Discover Financial Services had a return on equity of 26.18% and a net margin of 17.29%. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Discover Financial Services will post 13.84 earnings per share for the current year.

Discover Financial Services Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 6th. Investors of record on Friday, May 23rd will be paid a dividend of $0.70 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 23rd. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.38%. Discover Financial Services’s payout ratio is currently 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.