Exchange Traded Concepts LLC Cuts Stock Holdings in Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS)

Exchange Traded Concepts LLC decreased its holdings in shares of Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS - Free Report) by 24.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 4,642 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 1,508 shares during the period. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC's holdings in Discover Financial Services were worth $804,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. grew its position 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 purchasing an additional 157 shares during the period. Grove Bank & Trust grew its position in Discover Financial Services by 78.1% in the 4th 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 period. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. acquired a new stake in Discover Financial Services in the 3rd quarter valued at $30,000. Decker Retirement Planning Inc. bought a new position in Discover Financial Services in the 4th quarter valued at about $47,000. Finally, Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. lifted its position 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 acquiring an additional 79 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.94% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have issued reports on DFS. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on shares of Discover Financial Services from $193.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Discover Financial Services from $186.00 to $209.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped 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 report on Monday, December 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Discover Financial Services from $146.00 to $169.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on 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. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $182.64.

Discover Financial Services Stock Performance

NYSE:DFS traded up $4.07 on Thursday, reaching $205.10. 216,129 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,475,518. The firm has a market cap of $51.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.86, a P/E/G ratio of 1.15 and a beta of 1.46. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $180.47 and a 200-day simple moving average of $156.15. Discover Financial Services has a 52 week low of $104.08 and a 52 week high of $204.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09, a current ratio of 1.10 and a quick ratio of 1.03.

Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 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 earnings per share for the current year.

Discover Financial Services Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 23rd. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.37%. Discover Financial Services's payout ratio 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.