Patron Partners LLC Purchases 201 Shares of Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS)

Patron Partners LLC increased its position in Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) by 4.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 4,500 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 201 shares during the period. Patron Partners LLC’s holdings in Discover Financial Services were worth $779,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. UMB Bank n.a. increased its stake in shares of Discover Financial Services by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 9,248 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,602,000 after purchasing an additional 56 shares in the last quarter. Invst LLC raised its holdings in Discover Financial Services by 0.9% during the third quarter. Invst LLC now owns 7,253 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,018,000 after acquiring an additional 62 shares during the period. CTC Alternative Strategies Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Discover Financial Services by 3.2% in the third quarter. CTC Alternative Strategies Ltd. now owns 2,047 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $287,000 after acquiring an additional 63 shares in the last quarter. Eagle Bluffs Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Discover Financial Services by 0.5% in the third quarter. Eagle Bluffs Wealth Management LLC now owns 14,501 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,034,000 after acquiring an additional 67 shares during the period. Finally, Perigon Wealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of Discover Financial Services by 3.5% during the fourth quarter. Perigon Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,967 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $364,000 after purchasing an additional 67 shares in the last quarter. 86.94% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have weighed in on DFS shares. StockNews.com downgraded Discover Financial Services from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Discover Financial Services from $186.00 to $209.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Evercore ISI upped their price target on shares of Discover Financial Services from $156.00 to $163.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on shares of Discover Financial Services from $170.00 to $232.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Finally, Truist Financial upped their target price on shares of Discover Financial Services from $233.00 to $262.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $182.64.

Discover Financial Services Price Performance

DFS opened at $198.60 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $181.46 and its 200-day simple moving average is $157.13. The company has a market capitalization of $49.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.44, a PEG ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 1.46. Discover Financial Services has a 12-month low of $104.08 and a 12-month high of $205.76.

Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The financial services provider reported $5.11 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%. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Discover Financial Services will post 13.39 earnings per share 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. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.41%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 23rd. Discover Financial Services’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.