MV Capital Management Inc. Sells 463 Shares of Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS)

MV Capital Management Inc. lowered its holdings in Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) by 75.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 149 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 463 shares during the period. MV Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Discover Financial Services were worth $26,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Discover Financial Services in the third quarter valued at $30,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Discover Financial Services in the 4th quarter valued at about $33,000. Flagship Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Discover Financial Services during the 4th quarter worth about $34,000. Grove Bank & Trust increased 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 worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 89 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bfsg LLC acquired a new stake in Discover Financial Services in the 4th quarter valued at about $35,000. 86.94% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on DFS shares. Barclays raised their price objective on Discover Financial Services from $186.00 to $209.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. UBS Group upgraded shares of Discover Financial Services from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $150.00 to $239.00 in a research note on Monday, January 13th. 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 research note on Friday, January 24th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Discover Financial Services from $185.00 to $214.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Discover Financial Services from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $192.40.

Discover Financial Services Stock Down 2.6 %

Shares of DFS opened at $158.23 on Friday. 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 has a 52 week low of $119.31 and a 52 week high of $205.76. The stock has a market capitalization of $39.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.91, a PEG ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 1.45. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $184.39 and a 200-day moving average of $170.03.

Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The financial services provider reported $5.11 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%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Discover Financial Services will post 13.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Discover Financial Services Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 6th. Investors of record on Friday, May 23rd will be given a dividend of $0.70 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 23rd. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.77%. Discover Financial Services’s dividend payout ratio 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.