Americana Partners LLC Cuts Stake in Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS)

Americana Partners LLC cut its stake in Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) by 15.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,627 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 300 shares during the quarter. Americana Partners LLC’s holdings in Discover Financial Services were worth $282,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Hemington Wealth Management raised its position in Discover Financial Services by 11.0% in the fourth quarter. Hemington Wealth Management now owns 503 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $87,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares during the period. UMB Bank n.a. grew its stake in shares of Discover Financial Services by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 9,248 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,602,000 after acquiring an additional 56 shares in the last quarter. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. grew its stake in shares of Discover Financial Services by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. now owns 6,158 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,067,000 after acquiring an additional 57 shares in the last quarter. Invst LLC grew its stake in shares of Discover Financial Services by 0.9% during the third quarter. Invst LLC now owns 7,253 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,018,000 after acquiring an additional 62 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CTC Alternative Strategies Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Discover Financial Services by 3.2% during the third quarter. CTC Alternative Strategies Ltd. now owns 2,047 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $287,000 after acquiring an additional 63 shares in the last quarter. 86.94% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently commented on DFS. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Discover Financial Services from $146.00 to $169.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. UBS Group upgraded 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. Truist Financial lifted their target price 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. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price 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. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price 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. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $186.46.

Discover Financial Services Stock Performance

DFS opened at $196.96 on Wednesday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $185.09 and its 200-day moving average is $161.40. The stock has a market cap of $49.50 billion, a PE ratio of 12.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.63 and a beta of 1.46. The company has a current ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09. Discover Financial Services has a twelve month low of $118.74 and a twelve month high of $205.76.

Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) last released 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%. On average, analysts predict that Discover Financial Services will post 13.57 earnings per share for the current year.

Discover Financial Services Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 6th. Investors of record on Friday, May 23rd will be issued a dividend of $0.70 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 23rd. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.42%. Discover Financial Services’s payout ratio is 17.54%.

Discover Financial Services 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.