Moran Wealth Management LLC Sells 1,867 Shares of Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS)

Moran Wealth Management LLC lowered its stake in shares of Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) by 2.2% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 84,850 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 1,867 shares during the period. Moran Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Discover Financial Services were worth $14,699,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. acquired a new position in Discover Financial Services during the third quarter valued at approximately $30,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Discover Financial Services in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Grove Bank & Trust lifted its position in Discover Financial Services by 78.1% during the 4th 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 position in Discover Financial Services during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Finally, Hantz Financial Services Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Discover Financial Services in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $37,000. 86.94% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

DFS has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price 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. 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 research report on Monday, December 9th. UBS Group raised shares of Discover Financial Services from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $150.00 to $239.00 in a research note on Monday, January 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Discover Financial Services from $146.00 to $169.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Discover Financial Services from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $191.91.

Discover Financial Services Stock Performance

NYSE:DFS opened at $167.38 on Monday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $189.03 and a 200-day moving average price of $167.33. Discover Financial Services has a fifty-two week low of $119.31 and a fifty-two week high of $205.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a current ratio of 1.09. The firm has a market cap of $42.11 billion, a PE ratio of 10.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 1.45.

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

Discover Financial Services Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 6th. Investors of record on Friday, May 23rd will be issued a $0.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 23rd. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.67%. Discover Financial Services’s payout ratio is currently 17.54%.

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.