1,523 Shares in Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) Acquired by Meridian Wealth Management LLC

Meridian Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 1,523 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $264,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of DFS. Farther Finance Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Discover Financial Services by 20.0% in the 3rd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 1,922 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $270,000 after purchasing an additional 321 shares during the last quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC purchased a new position in shares of Discover Financial Services in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $2,415,000. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Discover Financial Services in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $53,000. Van ECK Associates Corp grew its stake in shares of Discover Financial Services by 3.0% in the 3rd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 45,965 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $6,672,000 after purchasing an additional 1,318 shares during the last quarter. Finally, National Pension Service grew 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 during the last quarter. 86.94% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

DFS has been the topic of several analyst reports. Barclays lifted their target price on Discover Financial Services from $186.00 to $209.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on Discover Financial Services from $170.00 to $232.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on 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. Truist Financial lifted their price target on Discover Financial Services from $233.00 to $262.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Discover Financial Services from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Discover Financial Services presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $191.91.

Discover Financial Services Stock Performance

Shares of DFS stock opened at $181.28 on Thursday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $189.27 and a 200 day moving average price of $166.62. The stock has a market cap of $45.61 billion, a PE ratio of 11.36, a P/E/G ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 1.46. Discover Financial Services has a 1 year low of $118.74 and a 1 year high of $205.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a current ratio of 1.09.

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, topping 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 forecast that Discover Financial Services will post 13.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Discover Financial Services Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 6th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 23rd will be issued a $0.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 23rd. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.54%. Discover Financial Services’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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.