Bank of Montreal Can Decreases Stock Position in Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS)

Bank of Montreal Can reduced its position in shares of Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) by 42.0% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 389,723 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 281,846 shares during the quarter. Bank of Montreal Can’s holdings in Discover Financial Services were worth $67,512,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Discover Financial Services in the fourth quarter worth approximately $33,000. Flagship Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Discover Financial Services during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Grove Bank & Trust grew its position in shares of Discover Financial Services by 78.1% during the fourth quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 203 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 89 shares in the last quarter. Bfsg LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Discover Financial Services during the fourth quarter worth approximately $35,000. Finally, Hantz Financial Services Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Discover Financial Services during the fourth quarter worth approximately $37,000. 86.94% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

DFS has been the subject of a number of research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on shares of Discover Financial Services from $169.00 to $129.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday. Truist Financial dropped their price target on shares of Discover Financial Services from $262.00 to $219.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, March 21st. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on shares of 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. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Discover Financial Services from $185.00 to $214.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, UBS Group raised Discover Financial Services from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $150.00 to $239.00 in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $188.40.

Discover Financial Services Trading Up 15.5 %

NYSE:DFS opened at $171.21 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $43.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.73, a PEG ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 1.20. The company has a current ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $177.04 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $171.56. Discover Financial Services has a 1-year low of $119.31 and a 1-year high of $205.76.

Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The financial services provider reported $5.11 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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, equities analysts expect that Discover Financial Services will post 13.88 earnings per share for the current year.

Discover Financial Services Dividend Announcement

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 is Friday, May 23rd. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.64%. Discover Financial Services’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 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.