Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC Sells 2,880 Shares of Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS)

Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC cut its stake in shares of Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) by 2.1% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 131,929 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 2,880 shares during the period. Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC’s holdings in Discover Financial Services were worth $22,854,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Grove Bank & Trust grew its stake 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 valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 89 shares during the period. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. bought a new position in Discover Financial Services in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $30,000. Hantz Financial Services Inc. bought a new position in Discover Financial Services in the 4th quarter worth approximately $37,000. Decker Retirement Planning Inc. bought a new position in Discover Financial Services in the 4th quarter worth approximately $47,000. Finally, Compass Financial Services Inc bought a new position in Discover Financial Services in the 4th quarter worth approximately $49,000. 86.94% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Discover Financial Services Stock Performance

NYSE:DFS opened at $196.14 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $184.70 and its 200 day moving average is $160.75. Discover Financial Services has a fifty-two week low of $109.50 and a fifty-two week high of $205.76. The firm has a market capitalization of $49.29 billion, a PE ratio of 12.29, a PEG ratio of 0.63 and a beta of 1.46. 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) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The financial services provider reported $5.11 earnings per share 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%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Discover Financial Services will post 13.57 earnings per share for the current year.

Discover Financial Services Dividend Announcement

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have weighed in on the company. Evercore ISI upped their price target on Discover Financial Services from $156.00 to $163.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. UBS Group upgraded Discover Financial Services from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $150.00 to $239.00 in a research note on Monday, January 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Discover Financial Services from $146.00 to $169.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Discover Financial Services from $185.00 to $214.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Barclays upped their price objective on Discover Financial Services from $186.00 to $209.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $186.46.

Discover Financial Services Company 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; 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.