Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB Sells 792 Shares of Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS)

Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB trimmed its stake in Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) by 10.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 7,077 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 792 shares during the period. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB’s holdings in Discover Financial Services were worth $1,226,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in DFS. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC lifted its stake in shares of Discover Financial Services by 4.2% in the third quarter. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC now owns 2,159 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $303,000 after buying an additional 87 shares during the last quarter. CWM LLC raised its holdings in Discover Financial Services by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 9,841 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,381,000 after acquiring an additional 90 shares during the period. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt boosted its holdings in Discover Financial Services by 458.5% during the third quarter. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt now owns 1,949 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $273,000 after acquiring an additional 1,600 shares during the period. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Discover Financial Services in the third quarter valued at about $863,000. Finally, CHICAGO TRUST Co NA bought a new position in shares of Discover Financial Services in the third quarter worth about $437,000. 86.94% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

DFS has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on Discover Financial Services from $170.00 to $232.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on Discover Financial Services from $156.00 to $163.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted 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 research report on Friday, January 24th. Barclays increased their price target 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. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of Discover Financial Services from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $186.46.

Discover Financial Services Stock Down 1.5 %

NYSE DFS opened at $199.73 on Monday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $183.23 and its 200 day simple moving average is $159.09. Discover Financial Services has a one year low of $106.65 and a one year high of $205.76. The firm has a market cap of $50.19 billion, a PE ratio of 12.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.63 and a beta of 1.46. 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 released its quarterly 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 return on equity of 26.18% and a net margin of 17.29%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Discover Financial Services will post 13.57 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Discover Financial Services Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 6th. Investors of record on Friday, May 23rd will be issued a $0.70 dividend. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.40%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 23rd. Discover Financial Services’s dividend payout ratio is currently 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.