Foster & Motley Inc. Has $4.41 Million Stock Position in Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS)

Foster & Motley Inc. trimmed its holdings in shares of Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) by 21.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 39,225 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 10,556 shares during the period. Foster & Motley Inc.’s holdings in Discover Financial Services were worth $4,409,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Lee Danner & Bass Inc. acquired a new position in Discover Financial Services during the fourth quarter valued at $210,000. GUNN & Co INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT INC. raised its position in Discover Financial Services by 153.4% during the fourth quarter. GUNN & Co INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT INC. now owns 61,316 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $6,892,000 after buying an additional 37,114 shares during the period. OLD National Bancorp IN raised its position in Discover Financial Services by 2.9% during the fourth quarter. OLD National Bancorp IN now owns 10,792 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,213,000 after buying an additional 304 shares during the period. Signaturefd LLC raised its position in Discover Financial Services by 19.5% during the fourth quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 6,589 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $741,000 after buying an additional 1,073 shares during the period. Finally, Verdence Capital Advisors LLC raised its position in Discover Financial Services by 4.2% during the fourth quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 8,748 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $983,000 after buying an additional 355 shares during the period. 86.94% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Discover Financial Services Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:DFS opened at $126.64 on Tuesday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $122.34 and a 200 day moving average price of $106.44. Discover Financial Services has a twelve month low of $79.04 and a twelve month high of $131.65. The company has a market cap of $31.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.45, a PEG ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 1.45. The company has a quick ratio of 1.13, a current ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.49.

Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 18th. The financial services provider reported $1.10 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.98 by ($1.88). Discover Financial Services had a net margin of 10.56% and a return on equity of 16.74%. The business had revenue of $4.21 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.07 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $3.58 EPS. Research analysts predict that Discover Financial Services will post 11.34 earnings per share for the current year.

Discover Financial Services Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 6th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 23rd will be paid a dividend of $0.70 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 22nd. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.21%. Discover Financial Services’s payout ratio is 31.93%.

Insider Activity at Discover Financial Services

In other Discover Financial Services news, CFO John Greene sold 35,191 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $106.51, for a total value of $3,748,193.41. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 18,592 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,980,233.92. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.50% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have weighed in on DFS shares. Morgan Stanley raised Discover Financial Services from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $105.00 to $133.00 in a research report on Thursday, February 8th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Discover Financial Services from $105.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. Seaport Res Ptn lowered Discover Financial Services from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, March 15th. Evercore ISI upped their target price on Discover Financial Services from $117.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 22nd. Finally, Piper Sandler upped their target price on Discover Financial Services from $127.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 23rd. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $126.29.

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.