Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) Shares Sold by Sentry Investment Management LLC

Sentry Investment Management LLC lowered its stake in shares of Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) by 14.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 935 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 152 shares during the period. Sentry Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Discover Financial Services were worth $162,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Hemington Wealth Management boosted its stake in shares of Discover Financial Services by 11.0% during the 4th quarter. Hemington Wealth Management now owns 503 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $87,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. raised its holdings in Discover Financial Services by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 9,248 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,602,000 after purchasing an additional 56 shares during the last quarter. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. boosted its position in Discover Financial Services by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. now owns 6,158 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,067,000 after purchasing an additional 57 shares in the last quarter. Invst LLC grew its holdings in Discover Financial Services by 0.9% in the third quarter. Invst LLC now owns 7,253 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,018,000 after purchasing an additional 62 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CTC Alternative Strategies Ltd. increased its position in shares of 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 valued at $287,000 after buying an additional 63 shares in the last quarter. 86.94% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Discover Financial Services Trading Down 2.9 %

Shares of Discover Financial Services stock opened at $187.66 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $47.16 billion, a PE ratio of 11.76, a P/E/G ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 1.46. The company has a quick ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09. Discover Financial Services has a fifty-two week low of $118.74 and a fifty-two week high of $205.76. The business’s fifty day moving average is $187.49 and its two-hundred day moving average is $164.38.

Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The financial services provider reported $5.11 earnings per share (EPS) 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%. Analysts anticipate that Discover Financial Services will post 13.88 earnings per share for the current year.

Discover Financial Services Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 6th. Investors of record on Friday, May 23rd will be issued 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 1.49%. Discover Financial Services’s payout ratio is 17.54%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

DFS has been the topic of several recent research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Discover Financial Services from $146.00 to $169.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on shares of Discover Financial Services from $193.00 to $210.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on shares of Discover Financial Services from $170.00 to $232.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th. UBS Group upgraded Discover Financial Services from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $150.00 to $239.00 in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Finally, StockNews.com cut Discover Financial Services from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Discover Financial Services has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $191.91.

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.