Patriot Financial Group Insurance Agency LLC Purchases Shares of 1,203 Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS)

Patriot Financial Group Insurance Agency LLC acquired a new position in shares of Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 1,203 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $208,000.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in DFS. AXA S.A. grew its holdings in Discover Financial Services by 141.5% during the 2nd quarter. AXA S.A. now owns 6,064 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $793,000 after acquiring an additional 3,553 shares in the last quarter. Creative Planning grew its stake in shares of Discover Financial Services by 1.4% during the second quarter. Creative Planning now owns 63,959 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $8,366,000 after purchasing an additional 906 shares in the last quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Discover Financial Services by 3.6% in the second quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 5,510 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $721,000 after buying an additional 189 shares during the last quarter. 3Chopt Investment Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Discover Financial Services during the 2nd quarter worth about $476,000. Finally, Cetera Investment Advisers boosted its position in shares of Discover Financial Services by 0.8% during the 2nd quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 69,539 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $9,097,000 after acquiring an additional 549 shares in the last quarter. 86.94% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Truist Financial boosted their target price on Discover Financial Services from $233.00 to $262.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Discover Financial Services from $186.00 to $209.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. UBS Group upgraded shares of Discover Financial Services from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $150.00 to $239.00 in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on shares of Discover Financial Services from $156.00 to $163.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price 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. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Discover Financial Services currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $182.64.

Discover Financial Services Price Performance

Shares of NYSE DFS opened at $201.13 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09, a current ratio of 1.10 and a quick ratio of 1.03. The company has a market cap of $50.55 billion, a PE ratio of 12.60, a P/E/G ratio of 1.15 and a beta of 1.46. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $179.90 and a 200 day moving average price of $155.83. Discover Financial Services has a 1-year low of $104.08 and a 1-year high of $204.93.

Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The financial services provider reported $5.11 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.13 by $1.98. Discover Financial Services had a net margin of 17.29% and a return on equity of 27.52%. Sell-side analysts forecast that Discover Financial Services will post 12.82 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 paid a dividend of $0.70 per share. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.39%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 23rd. Discover Financial Services’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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.