Essential Planning LLC. Buys New Holdings in Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS)

Essential Planning LLC. bought a new stake in shares of Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 27,560 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $4,513,000.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in Discover Financial Services by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 10,498,044 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,472,771,000 after buying an additional 80,601 shares during the period. FMR LLC raised its position in shares of Discover Financial Services by 8.0% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 7,493,862 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,051,314,000 after acquiring an additional 558,227 shares in the last quarter. C2P Capital Advisory Group LLC d.b.a. Prosperity Capital Advisors bought a new position in shares of Discover Financial Services in the 4th quarter worth approximately $351,766,000. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its position in shares of Discover Financial Services by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 1,834,705 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $257,391,000 after acquiring an additional 12,255 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Discover Financial Services by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,738,804 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $301,213,000 after acquiring an additional 10,528 shares in the last quarter. 86.94% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

DFS has been the subject of several research reports. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised 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. UBS Group raised Discover Financial Services from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their price objective for the company from $150.00 to $239.00 in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Discover Financial Services from $185.00 to $214.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered Discover Financial Services from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $191.91.

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Discover Financial Services Stock Performance

Shares of DFS opened at $163.71 on Thursday. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $188.22 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $167.66. The company has a current ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09. Discover Financial Services has a 12 month low of $119.31 and a 12 month high of $205.76. The company has a market cap of $41.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.26, a P/E/G 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 the consensus estimate of $3.13 by $1.98. Discover Financial Services had a return on equity of 26.18% and a net margin of 17.29%. Research analysts anticipate that Discover Financial Services will post 13.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Discover Financial Services Dividend Announcement

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 paid a $0.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 23rd. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.71%. 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.

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