Pacer Advisors Inc. Raises Stake in Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS)

Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its position in shares of Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) by 6.9% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 20,090 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 1,297 shares during the quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Discover Financial Services were worth $3,480,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares 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 acquiring an additional 157 shares during the last quarter. Grove Bank & Trust increased its stake in Discover Financial Services by 78.1% in the fourth quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 203 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 89 shares during the last quarter. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. purchased a new position in Discover Financial Services during the third quarter worth about $30,000. Decker Retirement Planning Inc. acquired a new stake in Discover Financial Services in the 4th quarter worth about $47,000. Finally, Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. grew its holdings in Discover Financial Services by 37.1% in the 3rd quarter. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. now owns 292 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $41,000 after buying an additional 79 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.94% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

DFS has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Evercore ISI raised their target price on shares of Discover Financial Services from $156.00 to $163.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on shares of Discover Financial Services from $170.00 to $232.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on Discover Financial Services from $193.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. StockNews.com cut Discover Financial Services from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target 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. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $182.64.

Discover Financial Services Stock Up 0.7 %

NYSE DFS opened at $202.42 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $50.87 billion, a PE ratio of 12.68, a P/E/G ratio of 1.15 and a beta of 1.46. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $180.47 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $156.15. Discover Financial Services has a fifty-two week low of $104.08 and a fifty-two week high of $205.76. The company has a quick ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09.

Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The financial services provider reported $5.11 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 27.52%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Discover Financial Services will post 12.82 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Discover Financial Services Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 6th. Investors of record on Friday, May 23rd will be paid a $0.70 dividend. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.38%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 23rd. Discover Financial Services’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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.