HM Payson & Co. Cuts Stock Position in Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS)

HM Payson & Co. lessened its holdings in shares of Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) by 7.2% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 4,849 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 375 shares during the period. HM Payson & Co.’s holdings in Discover Financial Services were worth $636,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of DFS. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Discover Financial Services during the fourth quarter worth $322,199,000. Truist Financial Corp grew its holdings in Discover Financial Services by 239.6% in the fourth quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 2,027,686 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $227,912,000 after purchasing an additional 1,430,637 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA acquired a new stake in Discover Financial Services in the fourth quarter valued at $121,113,000. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in Discover Financial Services by 60.9% in the fourth quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,122,824 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $238,605,000 after purchasing an additional 803,738 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Canoe Financial LP acquired a new stake in Discover Financial Services in the fourth quarter valued at $72,265,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.94% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have weighed in on the company. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on Discover Financial Services from $140.00 to $148.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, July 19th. Barclays upped their target price on Discover Financial Services from $135.00 to $137.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, July 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Discover Financial Services from $132.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, July 19th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on Discover Financial Services from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, July 8th. Finally, BTIG Research started coverage on Discover Financial Services in a research note on Friday, June 7th. They set a “neutral” rating on the stock. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $131.33.

Discover Financial Services Trading Down 5.2 %

NYSE:DFS traded down $7.08 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $129.09. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,557,093 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,349,005. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $130.48 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $123.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28, a current ratio of 1.12 and a quick ratio of 1.12. Discover Financial Services has a twelve month low of $79.04 and a twelve month high of $147.61. The stock has a market cap of $32.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.72, a P/E/G ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 1.43.

Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 17th. The financial services provider reported $6.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.06 by $3.00. Discover Financial Services had a return on equity of 20.92% and a net margin of 12.88%. The firm had revenue of $4.54 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.18 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $3.54 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 17.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts predict that Discover Financial Services will post 12.23 EPS for the current year.

Discover Financial Services Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 5th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 22nd will be paid a $0.70 dividend. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.17%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 22nd. Discover Financial Services’s dividend payout ratio is currently 31.93%.

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; private student loans, 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.