Banco BTG Pactual S.A. Takes $449,000 Position in Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS)

Banco BTG Pactual S.A. purchased a new stake in shares of Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 2,578 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $449,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Hemington Wealth Management raised its position in Discover Financial Services by 11.0% in the fourth quarter. Hemington Wealth Management now owns 503 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $87,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. grew its stake in shares of Discover Financial Services by 0.6% in the 4th 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 during the last quarter. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. raised its holdings in shares of Discover Financial Services by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. now owns 6,158 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,067,000 after purchasing an additional 57 shares in the last quarter. Invst LLC lifted its stake 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 purchasing an additional 62 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CTC Alternative Strategies Ltd. boosted its holdings in Discover Financial Services by 3.2% during the third quarter. CTC Alternative Strategies Ltd. now owns 2,047 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $287,000 after buying an additional 63 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.94% of the company's stock.

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Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently commented on DFS. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Discover Financial Services from $146.00 to $169.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research 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 report on Monday, December 9th. UBS Group raised Discover Financial Services from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $150.00 to $239.00 in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Discover Financial Services from $186.00 to $209.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Discover Financial Services from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Discover Financial Services has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $192.40.

Discover Financial Services Stock Down 2.6 %

Shares of NYSE:DFS traded down $4.28 during trading on Friday, reaching $158.23. 1,303,675 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,505,440. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $184.39 and a 200 day simple moving average of $170.03. The company has a quick ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09. Discover Financial Services has a 1-year low of $119.31 and a 1-year high of $205.76. The firm has a market cap of $39.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 1.45.

Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The financial services provider reported $5.11 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.13 by $1.98. Discover Financial Services had a return on equity of 26.18% and a net margin of 17.29%. Analysts anticipate that Discover Financial Services will post 13.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Discover Financial Services Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 6th. Investors of record on Friday, May 23rd will be given a dividend of $0.70 per share. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.77%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 23rd. Discover Financial Services's payout ratio is presently 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.