B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. AG Lowers Stock Holdings in Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS)

B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. AG cut its holdings in Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) by 9.9% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 24,074 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 2,645 shares during the period. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. AG’s holdings in Discover Financial Services were worth $4,169,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in DFS. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. purchased a new position in Discover Financial Services during the third quarter worth about $30,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Discover Financial Services during the 4th quarter worth about $33,000. Flagship Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Discover Financial Services in the fourth quarter worth approximately $34,000. Grove Bank & Trust grew its holdings in Discover Financial Services by 78.1% in the fourth quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 203 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 89 shares during the period. Finally, Bfsg LLC acquired a new position in Discover Financial Services during the fourth quarter worth approximately $35,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.94% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently issued reports on DFS shares. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on shares of 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. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Discover Financial Services from $185.00 to $214.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Barclays lifted their price objective 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 increased their target price on shares of Discover Financial Services from $170.00 to $232.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Discover Financial Services from $146.00 to $169.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $192.40.

Discover Financial Services Trading Up 7.7 %

NYSE DFS opened at $170.90 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $43.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.71, a PEG ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 1.45. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $184.07 and its 200-day simple moving average is $170.62. 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 52 week low of $119.31 and a 52 week 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 EPS for the quarter, topping 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%. Equities research analysts predict that Discover Financial Services will post 13.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Discover Financial Services Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 6th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 23rd will be paid a dividend of $0.70 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 23rd. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.64%. Discover Financial Services’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.