LGT Group Foundation Has $284,000 Stake in Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS)

LGT Group Foundation reduced its position in shares of Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) by 9.2% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 2,522 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 257 shares during the quarter. LGT Group Foundation’s holdings in Discover Financial Services were worth $284,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC acquired a new position in shares of Discover Financial Services during the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Discover Financial Services during the fourth quarter worth about $35,000. Anchor Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Discover Financial Services during the fourth quarter worth about $42,000. First Command Advisory Services Inc. bought a new stake in Discover Financial Services during the third quarter worth about $39,000. Finally, Larson Financial Group LLC raised its holdings in Discover Financial Services by 105.8% during the third quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 465 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $40,000 after acquiring an additional 239 shares in the last quarter. 86.94% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently issued reports on DFS. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Discover Financial Services from $110.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. StockNews.com began coverage on Discover Financial Services in a report on Saturday. They set a “hold” rating on the stock. Seaport Res Ptn lowered Discover Financial Services from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, March 15th. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their target price on Discover Financial Services from $139.00 to $121.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 19th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on Discover Financial Services from $137.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, April 19th. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $126.29.

Discover Financial Services Stock Up 0.4 %

Shares of DFS opened at $125.06 on Friday. Discover Financial Services has a 52 week low of $79.04 and a 52 week high of $131.65. The stock has a market capitalization of $31.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.26, a PEG ratio of 0.73 and a beta of 1.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.50, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a current ratio of 1.12. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $124.34 and a 200-day moving average of $108.25.

Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 18th. The financial services provider reported $1.10 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.98 by ($1.88). Discover Financial Services had a net margin of 10.56% and a return on equity of 17.07%. The firm had revenue of $4.21 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.07 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $3.58 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Discover Financial Services will post 11.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Discover Financial Services Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 6th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 23rd will be given a dividend of $0.70 per share. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.24%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 22nd. Discover Financial Services’s dividend payout ratio is currently 31.93%.

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; private student loans, 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.