Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) Shares Sold by Verity & Verity LLC

Verity & Verity LLC lowered its stake in Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS - Free Report) by 41.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,559 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 1,821 shares during the period. Verity & Verity LLC's holdings in Discover Financial Services were worth $443,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of DFS. Invst LLC grew its stake in shares of Discover Financial Services by 0.9% during the third quarter. Invst LLC now owns 7,253 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,018,000 after buying an additional 62 shares during the last quarter. CTC Alternative Strategies Ltd. raised its stake in Discover Financial Services by 3.2% in the third quarter. CTC Alternative Strategies Ltd. now owns 2,047 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $287,000 after buying an additional 63 shares in the last quarter. Eagle Bluffs Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Discover Financial Services by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. Eagle Bluffs Wealth Management LLC now owns 14,501 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,034,000 after purchasing an additional 67 shares during the last quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Discover Financial Services by 27.4% during the third quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 316 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $44,000 after buying an additional 68 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Capital Investment Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Discover Financial Services by 4.6% in the fourth quarter. Capital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,687 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $292,000 after acquiring an additional 74 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.94% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on DFS shares. StockNews.com upgraded Discover Financial Services from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on Discover Financial Services from $148.00 to $161.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a report on Friday, October 18th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on shares of Discover Financial Services from $170.00 to $232.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Truist Financial initiated coverage on Discover Financial Services in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $233.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Discover Financial Services from $160.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Discover Financial Services currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $164.75.

Discover Financial Services Trading Up 1.2 %

Shares of Discover Financial Services stock traded up $2.13 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $187.17. The stock had a trading volume of 1,610,061 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,046,423. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $176.94 and a two-hundred day moving average of $152.41. The firm has a market cap of $47.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.99 and a beta of 1.46. The company has a quick ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09. Discover Financial Services has a 12-month low of $96.46 and a 12-month high of $189.27.

Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 16th. The financial services provider reported $3.69 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.28 by $0.41. Discover Financial Services had a return on equity of 22.08% and a net margin of 13.78%. The company had revenue of $5.91 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.36 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.59 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that Discover Financial Services will post 14.17 earnings per share for the current year.

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.