Sei Investments Co. Lowers Position in Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS)

Sei Investments Co. reduced its position in Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS - Free Report) by 24.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 73,722 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 23,504 shares during the quarter. Sei Investments Co.'s holdings in Discover Financial Services were worth $12,772,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Discover Financial Services by 7.7% in the third quarter. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,664 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $233,000 after purchasing an additional 119 shares in the last quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC boosted its position in Discover Financial Services by 53.8% in the 3rd quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 386 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $54,000 after buying an additional 135 shares during the period. D.A. Davidson & CO. grew its stake in shares of Discover Financial Services by 5.7% in the third quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 10,029 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,407,000 after acquiring an additional 539 shares in the last quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC increased its position in shares of Discover Financial Services by 4.5% during the third quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 4,769 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $669,000 after acquiring an additional 204 shares during the period. Finally, Bridgewater Associates LP acquired a new stake in shares of Discover Financial Services in the third quarter valued at $500,000. 86.94% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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Discover Financial Services Stock Performance

DFS stock traded down $23.01 on Thursday, hitting $152.93. The company's stock had a trading volume of 560,338 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,520,718. The stock has a market cap of $38.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 1.45. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $183.24 and a two-hundred day moving average of $170.92. 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 1 year low of $119.31 and a 1 year high of $205.76.

Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS - Get Free Report) last announced 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 net margin of 17.29% and a return on equity of 26.18%. Equities analysts predict 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. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 23rd will be issued a $0.70 dividend. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.83%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 23rd. Discover Financial Services's payout ratio is currently 17.54%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

DFS has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on Discover Financial Services from $170.00 to $232.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, December 9th. StockNews.com downgraded Discover Financial Services from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday. Barclays boosted their target price on Discover Financial Services from $186.00 to $209.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Royal Bank of Canada raised 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 report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, UBS Group upgraded shares of 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 report on Monday, January 13th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $192.40.

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.