IFG Advisory LLC Grows Position in Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS)

IFG Advisory LLC raised its stake in Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) by 46.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 38,212 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 12,168 shares during the period. IFG Advisory LLC’s holdings in Discover Financial Services were worth $4,295,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Schechter Investment Advisors LLC increased its stake in Discover Financial Services by 108.4% in the fourth quarter. Schechter Investment Advisors LLC now owns 8,725 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $981,000 after purchasing an additional 4,538 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its stake in Discover Financial Services by 7.6% in the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 493,254 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $55,442,000 after purchasing an additional 34,899 shares during the last quarter. Simon Quick Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Discover Financial Services by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. Simon Quick Advisors LLC now owns 6,397 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $719,000 after acquiring an additional 109 shares during the last quarter. CVA Family Office LLC purchased a new position in shares of Discover Financial Services during the fourth quarter worth approximately $68,000. Finally, Raymond James & Associates grew its position in shares of Discover Financial Services by 27.1% during the fourth quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 339,717 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $38,184,000 after acquiring an additional 72,452 shares during the last quarter. 86.94% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and set a $140.00 target price (up from $117.00) on shares of Discover Financial Services in a research report on Wednesday, February 21st. StockNews.com assumed coverage on shares of Discover Financial Services in a research report on Monday. They set a “hold” rating on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their target price on shares of Discover Financial Services from $140.00 to $111.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 19th. HSBC raised their target price on shares of Discover Financial Services from $107.00 to $144.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 21st. Finally, Stephens restated an “equal weight” rating and set a $98.00 target price on shares of Discover Financial Services in a research report on Thursday, December 14th. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $121.83.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO John Greene sold 35,191 shares of Discover Financial Services stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $106.51, for a total transaction of $3,748,193.41. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 18,592 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,980,233.92. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.69% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Discover Financial Services Trading Up 2.1 %

NYSE:DFS opened at $128.00 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $32.07 billion, a PE ratio of 11.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 1.45. The company has a quick ratio of 1.13, a current ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.49. Discover Financial Services has a 52-week low of $79.04 and a 52-week high of $128.03. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $114.65 and a 200-day simple moving average of $101.46.

Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 18th. The financial services provider reported $1.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.50 by ($0.96). The firm had revenue of $4.20 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.10 billion. Discover Financial Services had a return on equity of 22.24% and a net margin of 14.30%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 12.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $3.77 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that Discover Financial Services will post 11.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Discover Financial Services Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 7th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 22nd were paid a dividend of $0.70 per share. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.19%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 21st. Discover Financial Services’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 24.89%.

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; private student loans, 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.