Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) Shares Sold by Empirical Finance LLC

Empirical Finance LLC decreased its position in Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) by 1.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 8,883 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 136 shares during the quarter. Empirical Finance LLC’s holdings in Discover Financial Services were worth $1,539,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. lifted its holdings in Discover Financial Services by 506.5% in the 3rd quarter. DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. now owns 188 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 157 shares during the last quarter. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of Discover Financial Services in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $30,000. Grove Bank & Trust lifted its stake in Discover Financial Services by 78.1% during 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 last quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. bought a new stake in Discover Financial Services during the fourth quarter worth approximately $37,000. Finally, Venturi Wealth Management LLC grew its position in Discover Financial Services by 27.4% in the third quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 316 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $44,000 after buying an additional 68 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.94% of the company’s stock.

Discover Financial Services Trading Down 1.5 %

Discover Financial Services stock opened at $199.73 on Monday. Discover Financial Services has a 12 month low of $106.65 and a 12 month high of $205.76. The company has a quick ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09. The stock has a market cap of $50.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.51, a P/E/G ratio of 0.63 and a beta of 1.46. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $183.23 and its 200-day simple moving average is $159.09.

Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The financial services provider reported $5.11 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Discover Financial Services will post 13.57 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Discover Financial Services Announces Dividend

The firm 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 dividend of $0.70 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 23rd. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.40%. Discover Financial Services’s dividend payout ratio is currently 17.54%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently commented on DFS. Barclays increased their price objective on Discover Financial Services from $186.00 to $209.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on Discover Financial Services from $170.00 to $232.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. UBS Group raised 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. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Discover Financial Services from $185.00 to $214.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Evercore ISI raised their target price on shares of Discover Financial Services from $156.00 to $163.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Discover Financial Services currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $186.46.

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.