Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) Shares Sold by Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc.

Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. lowered its holdings in Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) by 1.5% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 15,903 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 245 shares during the period. Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Discover Financial Services were worth $2,755,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of DFS. DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. raised 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 buying an additional 157 shares during the period. Grove Bank & Trust increased 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 valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 89 shares during the last quarter. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Discover Financial Services in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Hantz Financial Services Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Discover Financial Services in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Finally, Decker Retirement Planning Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Discover Financial Services in the 4th quarter worth approximately $47,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.94% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

DFS has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. UBS Group raised Discover Financial Services from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $150.00 to $239.00 in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on Discover Financial Services from $170.00 to $232.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. Barclays increased their target price on Discover Financial Services from $186.00 to $209.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. StockNews.com downgraded Discover Financial Services from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Discover Financial Services from $146.00 to $169.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $186.46.

Discover Financial Services Trading Down 1.5 %

NYSE DFS opened at $199.73 on Monday. Discover Financial Services has a 52 week low of $106.65 and a 52 week high of $205.76. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $183.23 and a two-hundred day moving average of $159.09. 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 capitalization of $50.19 billion, a PE ratio of 12.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.63 and a beta of 1.46.

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 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%. As a group, research analysts expect that Discover Financial Services will post 13.57 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Discover Financial Services Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 6th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 23rd will be issued a $0.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date 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 payout ratio is currently 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.