B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. Sells 412 Shares of Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS)

B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. lessened its holdings in shares of Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) by 9.1% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 4,129 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 412 shares during the quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Discover Financial Services were worth $575,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of DFS. Blue Trust Inc. raised its stake in Discover Financial Services by 111.9% in the 2nd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 572 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $75,000 after acquiring an additional 302 shares during the period. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Discover Financial Services in the second quarter valued at about $380,000. Everhart Financial Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Discover Financial Services by 31.3% in the second quarter. Everhart Financial Group Inc. now owns 2,013 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $263,000 after purchasing an additional 480 shares during the period. LRI Investments LLC lifted its stake in shares of Discover Financial Services by 1,477.3% during the 2nd quarter. LRI Investments LLC now owns 1,388 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $182,000 after buying an additional 1,300 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Discover Financial Services by 42.6% during the 2nd quarter. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp now owns 23,749 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,107,000 after buying an additional 7,096 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 86.94% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

DFS has been the topic of several research analyst reports. StockNews.com cut shares of Discover Financial Services from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Discover Financial Services from $135.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on Discover Financial Services from $148.00 to $161.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on 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, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Discover Financial Services from $152.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Discover Financial Services currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $149.57.

Discover Financial Services Stock Down 3.2 %

Shares of DFS opened at $168.26 on Thursday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $166.22 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $144.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28, a current ratio of 1.08 and a quick ratio of 1.04. Discover Financial Services has a one year low of $96.46 and a one year high of $188.26. The company has a market cap of $42.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.58, a P/E/G ratio of 1.13 and a beta of 1.45.

Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 16th. The financial services provider reported $3.69 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.28 by $0.41. The company had revenue of $5.91 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.36 billion. Discover Financial Services had a return on equity of 21.38% and a net margin of 13.78%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.59 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Discover Financial Services will post 13.43 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Discover Financial Services Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 5th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 21st were paid a $0.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, November 21st. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.66%. Discover Financial Services’s payout ratio is currently 22.60%.

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.