Jones Financial Companies Lllp Purchases 2,849 Shares of Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS)

Jones Financial Companies Lllp raised its position in Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) by 67.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 7,049 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,849 shares during the quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp’s holdings in Discover Financial Services were worth $1,221,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Hemington Wealth Management raised its stake in shares of Discover Financial Services by 11.0% in the fourth quarter. Hemington Wealth Management now owns 503 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $87,000 after buying an additional 50 shares during the period. UMB Bank n.a. raised its stake in shares of Discover Financial Services by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 9,248 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,602,000 after buying an additional 56 shares during the period. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. raised its stake in shares of Discover Financial Services by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. now owns 6,158 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,067,000 after buying an additional 57 shares during the period. Invst LLC raised its stake in shares of Discover Financial Services by 0.9% in the third quarter. Invst LLC now owns 7,253 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,018,000 after buying an additional 62 shares during the period. Finally, CTC Alternative Strategies Ltd. raised its stake 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 worth $287,000 after buying an additional 63 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 86.94% of the company’s stock.

Discover Financial Services Trading Down 3.1 %

Shares of NYSE DFS opened at $167.38 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $189.03 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $166.87. The firm has a market cap of $42.11 billion, a PE ratio of 10.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 1.45. Discover Financial Services has a twelve month low of $119.31 and a twelve month high of $205.76.

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

Discover Financial Services Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 6th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 23rd will be given a dividend of $0.70 per share. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.67%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 23rd. Discover Financial Services’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 17.54%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently commented on the company. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Discover Financial Services from $185.00 to $214.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on Discover Financial Services from $193.00 to $210.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Barclays lifted their target price on Discover Financial Services from $186.00 to $209.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Discover Financial Services from $146.00 to $169.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Discover Financial Services from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $191.91.

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; 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.