Global Retirement Partners LLC Purchases 6,429 Shares of Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS)

Global Retirement Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) by 66.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 16,032 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 6,429 shares during the period. Global Retirement Partners LLC’s holdings in Discover Financial Services were worth $2,777,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Creative Planning increased its position in Discover Financial Services by 0.8% during the 3rd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 64,476 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $9,045,000 after purchasing an additional 517 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. increased its position in 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. Raymond James & Associates increased its position in Discover Financial Services by 12.7% during the 3rd quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 149,361 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $20,954,000 after purchasing an additional 16,863 shares in the last quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. increased its position in Discover Financial Services by 37.5% during the 3rd quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,035 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $145,000 after purchasing an additional 282 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Foundations Investment Advisors LLC increased its position in Discover Financial Services by 16.3% in the 3rd quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC now owns 2,046 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $287,000 after acquiring an additional 286 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 86.94% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have issued reports on DFS shares. UBS Group upgraded shares of Discover Financial Services from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the company from $150.00 to $239.00 in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on shares of Discover Financial Services from $170.00 to $232.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Royal Bank of Canada upped 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 report on Friday, January 24th. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Discover Financial Services from $186.00 to $209.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped 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. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $186.46.

Discover Financial Services Stock Up 3.6 %

Shares of Discover Financial Services stock opened at $203.34 on Thursday. 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’s fifty day simple moving average is $186.02 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $162.17. The company has a market cap of $51.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.74, a PEG ratio of 0.60 and a beta of 1.46. Discover Financial Services has a 12-month low of $118.74 and a 12-month high of $205.76.

Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 22nd. The financial services provider reported $5.11 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.13 by $1.98. Discover Financial Services had a net margin of 17.29% and a return on equity of 26.18%. Research analysts anticipate that Discover Financial Services will post 13.84 EPS for the current year.

Discover Financial Services Dividend Announcement

The firm 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 dividend of $0.70 per share. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.38%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 23rd. Discover Financial Services’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 17.54%.

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.