Sovereign Investment Advisors LLC Takes $249,000 Position in Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS)

Sovereign Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 1,435 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $249,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of DFS. Atria Investments Inc increased its holdings in shares of Discover Financial Services by 57.8% in the third quarter. Atria Investments Inc now owns 12,783 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,793,000 after purchasing an additional 4,684 shares in the last quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Discover Financial Services by 27.4% in the third quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 316 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $44,000 after purchasing an additional 68 shares in the last quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Discover Financial Services by 14.0% in the third quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,179 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $586,000 after purchasing an additional 513 shares in the last quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Discover Financial Services by 47.6% in the third quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC now owns 2,774 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $389,000 after purchasing an additional 895 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Metis Global Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Discover Financial Services by 2.9% in the third quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC now owns 14,190 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,991,000 after purchasing an additional 400 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.94% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on shares of Discover Financial Services from $170.00 to $232.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Discover Financial Services from $185.00 to $214.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Discover Financial Services from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. UBS Group raised shares of Discover Financial Services from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $150.00 to $239.00 in a report on Monday, January 13th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on shares of Discover Financial Services from $193.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $191.91.

Discover Financial Services Stock Up 3.4 %

Discover Financial Services stock opened at $164.67 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $41.43 billion, a PE ratio of 10.32, a P/E/G ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 1.45. The company’s 50-day moving average is $187.69 and its 200-day moving average is $168.06. Discover Financial Services has a fifty-two week low of $119.31 and a fifty-two week high of $205.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09, a current ratio of 1.09 and a quick ratio of 1.03.

Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The financial services provider reported $5.11 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.13 by $1.98. Discover Financial Services had a net margin of 17.29% and a return on equity of 26.18%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Discover Financial Services will post 13.88 earnings per share for the current year.

Discover Financial Services Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 6th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 23rd will be issued a dividend of $0.70 per share. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.70%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 23rd. Discover Financial Services’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 17.54%.

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.