Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) Shares Purchased by B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc.

B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. raised its stake in shares of Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) by 74.0% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 7,976 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,391 shares during the period. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Discover Financial Services were worth $1,046,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Partnership Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Discover Financial Services in the fourth quarter worth $25,000. MeadowBrook Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Discover Financial Services in the fourth quarter valued at $31,000. Riverview Trust Co purchased a new position in shares of Discover Financial Services in the first quarter valued at $34,000. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Discover Financial Services in the fourth quarter valued at $35,000. Finally, West Paces Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Discover Financial Services by 110.7% in the first quarter. West Paces Advisors Inc. now owns 316 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $41,000 after purchasing an additional 166 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.94% of the company’s stock.

Discover Financial Services Stock Down 5.4 %

Discover Financial Services stock opened at $136.17 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $34.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.53, a PEG ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 1.43. The company has a current ratio of 1.07, a quick ratio of 1.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.50. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $130.36 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $123.14. Discover Financial Services has a 52 week low of $79.04 and a 52 week high of $147.61.

Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 17th. The financial services provider reported $6.06 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.06 by $3.00. Discover Financial Services had a net margin of 12.88% and a return on equity of 20.53%. The company had revenue of $4.54 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.18 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $3.54 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 17.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect that Discover Financial Services will post 12.23 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Discover Financial Services Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 5th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 22nd will be given a dividend of $0.70 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 22nd. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.06%. Discover Financial Services’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 31.93%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have commented on DFS. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on shares of Discover Financial Services from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, July 8th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on shares of Discover Financial Services from $145.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 9th. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Discover Financial Services from $135.00 to $137.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, July 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Discover Financial Services from $132.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, July 19th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on shares of Discover Financial Services from $140.00 to $148.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, July 19th. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Discover Financial Services currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $131.33.

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; private student loans, 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.