Retirement Guys Formula LLC Acquires New Shares in Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS)

Retirement Guys Formula LLC acquired a new stake in Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 1,394 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $241,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. increased its holdings in Discover Financial Services by 506.5% during the 3rd quarter. DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. now owns 188 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 157 shares during the period. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Discover Financial Services during the 3rd quarter worth about $30,000. Grove Bank & Trust boosted its position in shares of Discover Financial Services by 78.1% during the 4th quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 203 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 89 shares in the last quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Discover Financial Services during the 4th quarter worth about $37,000. Finally, Venturi Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Discover Financial Services by 27.4% during the 3rd quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 316 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $44,000 after acquiring an additional 68 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.94% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

DFS has been the subject of several analyst reports. Evercore ISI upped 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. StockNews.com cut Discover Financial Services from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on Discover Financial Services from $193.00 to $210.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. UBS Group raised Discover Financial Services from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their target price for the company from $150.00 to $239.00 in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Finally, 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 research report on Monday, December 9th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Discover Financial Services presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $186.46.

Discover Financial Services Stock Performance

Discover Financial Services stock traded up $6.03 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $196.14. 1,238,124 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,519,959. The firm has a market cap of $49.29 billion, a PE ratio of 12.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.63 and a beta of 1.46. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $184.70 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $160.75. Discover Financial Services has a twelve month low of $109.50 and a twelve month high of $205.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a current ratio of 1.09.

Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The financial services provider reported $5.11 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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%. Equities analysts predict that Discover Financial Services will post 13.57 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Discover Financial Services Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 6th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 23rd will be paid a dividend of $0.70 per share. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.43%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 23rd. Discover Financial Services's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 17.54%.

About Discover Financial Services

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.