Alley Investment Management Company LLC Has $13.62 Million Stock Position in Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS)

Alley Investment Management Company LLC boosted its stake in shares of Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) by 1.6% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 78,615 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 1,234 shares during the period. Discover Financial Services makes up approximately 1.7% of Alley Investment Management Company LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 25th biggest holding. Alley Investment Management Company LLC’s holdings in Discover Financial Services were worth $13,618,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Discover Financial Services in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Bfsg LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Discover Financial Services in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Grove Bank & Trust raised its holdings in shares of Discover Financial Services by 78.1% in the fourth quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 203 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 89 shares during the last quarter. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Discover Financial Services in the third quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Finally, Hantz Financial Services Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Discover Financial Services in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $37,000. 86.94% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective 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. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Discover Financial Services from $186.00 to $209.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on shares of Discover Financial Services from $170.00 to $232.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of 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 cut shares of Discover Financial Services from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Discover Financial Services presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $191.91.

Discover Financial Services Trading Down 2.5 %

DFS stock opened at $190.40 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09, a current ratio of 1.09 and a quick ratio of 1.03. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $189.13 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $166.20. Discover Financial Services has a one year low of $118.74 and a one year high of $205.76. The stock has a market cap of $47.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 1.46.

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

Discover Financial Services Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 6th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 23rd will be given a $0.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 23rd. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.47%. Discover Financial Services’s payout ratio is presently 17.54%.

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.