Sagespring Wealth Partners LLC Acquires New Holdings in Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS)

Sagespring Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm purchased 1,642 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $284,000.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Discover Financial Services during the fourth quarter worth approximately $724,720,000. C2P Capital Advisory Group LLC d.b.a. Prosperity Capital Advisors acquired a new position in shares of Discover Financial Services during the fourth quarter worth $351,766,000. Invesco Ltd. increased its holdings in Discover Financial Services by 38.5% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,974,471 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $515,268,000 after buying an additional 826,287 shares during the last quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia raised its stake in Discover Financial Services by 208.9% in the fourth quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 561,405 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $97,252,000 after buying an additional 379,673 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Discover Financial Services by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 31,045,208 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $5,377,961,000 after buying an additional 290,937 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.94% of the company's stock.

Discover Financial Services Stock Performance

DFS traded up $3.60 during trading on Friday, hitting $159.91. The stock had a trading volume of 1,106,264 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,574,548. The firm has a market capitalization of $40.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.02, a PEG ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 1.20. 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 has a twelve month low of $119.95 and a twelve month high of $205.76. The company's 50-day moving average price is $171.42 and its 200 day moving average price is $172.58.

Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The financial services provider reported $5.11 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 forecast that Discover Financial Services will post 13.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Discover Financial Services Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 6th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 23rd will be given a dividend of $0.70 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 23rd. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.75%. Discover Financial Services's payout ratio is currently 17.54%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently weighed in on DFS. UBS Group upgraded Discover Financial Services from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $150.00 to $239.00 in a research note on Monday, January 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on shares of Discover Financial Services from $169.00 to $129.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on shares of Discover Financial Services from $193.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Discover Financial Services from $185.00 to $214.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Truist Financial decreased their target price on Discover Financial Services from $262.00 to $219.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, March 21st. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Discover Financial Services currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $188.40.

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.