Wealthfront Advisers LLC Has $5.04 Million Stock Position in Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS)

Wealthfront Advisers LLC lifted its stake in Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) by 8.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 29,115 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,191 shares during the quarter. Wealthfront Advisers LLC’s holdings in Discover Financial Services were worth $5,044,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of DFS. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Discover Financial Services in the third quarter valued at about $2,415,000. Atria Investments Inc increased its position in Discover Financial Services by 57.8% during the third quarter. Atria Investments Inc now owns 12,783 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,793,000 after buying an additional 4,684 shares during the last quarter. Wolverine Asset Management LLC increased its position in Discover Financial Services by 16.3% during the third quarter. Wolverine Asset Management LLC now owns 5,000 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $701,000 after buying an additional 700 shares during the last quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC increased its position in 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 worth $44,000 after buying an additional 68 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Apollon Wealth Management LLC increased its position in Discover Financial Services by 14.0% during the third quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,179 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $586,000 after buying an additional 513 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.94% of the company’s stock.

Discover Financial Services Trading Up 3.8 %

Shares of DFS stock opened at $163.71 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09. The stock has a market cap of $41.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 1.45. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $188.22 and a 200 day simple moving average of $167.66. Discover Financial Services has a 1 year low of $119.31 and a 1 year high of $205.76.

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, beating the consensus estimate 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, research analysts predict that Discover Financial Services will post 13.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Discover Financial Services Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 6th. Investors of record on Friday, May 23rd will be paid a $0.70 dividend. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.71%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 23rd. Discover Financial Services’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 17.54%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Discover Financial Services from $146.00 to $169.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. StockNews.com downgraded Discover Financial Services from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Barclays boosted their price target on Discover Financial Services from $186.00 to $209.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. UBS Group raised Discover Financial Services from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $150.00 to $239.00 in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on Discover Financial Services from $170.00 to $232.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Discover Financial Services currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price 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.