20,000 Shares in Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) Bought by Symmetry Investments LP

Symmetry Investments LP purchased a new stake in shares of Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor purchased 20,000 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $3,465,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. MGO One Seven LLC boosted its stake in Discover Financial Services by 3.2% during the fourth quarter. MGO One Seven LLC now owns 1,821 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $315,000 after buying an additional 57 shares in the last quarter. Dark Forest Capital Management LP boosted its position in shares of Discover Financial Services by 60.7% during the 4th quarter. Dark Forest Capital Management LP now owns 3,393 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $588,000 after acquiring an additional 1,281 shares in the last quarter. Fayez Sarofim & Co acquired a new position in Discover Financial Services in the fourth quarter worth about $1,053,000. J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG bought a new position in Discover Financial Services during the fourth quarter worth about $2,957,000. Finally, Tower Research Capital LLC TRC boosted its holdings in Discover Financial Services by 36.5% during the fourth quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 13,611 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,358,000 after purchasing an additional 3,643 shares in the last quarter. 86.94% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Discover Financial Services Stock Up 4.3 %

Shares of NYSE DFS opened at $172.47 on Wednesday. Discover Financial Services has a 1 year low of $119.95 and a 1 year high of $205.76. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $170.61 and its 200-day moving average is $172.98. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $43.39 billion, a PE ratio of 10.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 1.20.

Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) last released its earnings results 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 analysts expect that Discover Financial Services will post 13.88 EPS for the current year.

Discover Financial Services Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 6th. Investors 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 dividend yield of 1.62%. Discover Financial Services’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 17.54%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

DFS has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Discover Financial Services from $185.00 to $214.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. UBS Group raised shares of Discover Financial Services from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $150.00 to $239.00 in a report on Monday, January 13th. Barclays lifted their price target 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. StockNews.com cut shares of Discover Financial Services from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped 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, April 8th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Discover Financial Services presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $188.40.

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.