Rowlandmiller & PARTNERS.ADV Decreases Stake in Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS)

Rowlandmiller & PARTNERS.ADV cut its holdings in shares of Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) by 2.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 9,626 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 200 shares during the period. Rowlandmiller & PARTNERS.ADV’s holdings in Discover Financial Services were worth $1,668,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in DFS. C2P Capital Advisory Group LLC d.b.a. Prosperity Capital Advisors purchased a new position in shares of Discover Financial Services during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $351,766,000. FMR LLC increased its stake in shares of Discover Financial Services by 8.0% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 7,493,862 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,051,314,000 after buying an additional 558,227 shares during the period. Mizuho Securities USA LLC increased its stake in shares of Discover Financial Services by 1,272.0% during the third quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 265,155 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $37,199,000 after buying an additional 245,829 shares during the period. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC purchased a new position in shares of Discover Financial Services during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $39,067,000. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Discover Financial Services during the third quarter valued at approximately $21,169,000. 86.94% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on Discover Financial Services from $193.00 to $210.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Barclays lifted their price target 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. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on Discover Financial Services from $170.00 to $232.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, December 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Discover Financial Services from $146.00 to $169.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, UBS Group upgraded Discover Financial Services from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $150.00 to $239.00 in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $191.91.

Discover Financial Services Trading Down 2.8 %

Shares of NYSE:DFS opened at $194.21 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $48.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.17, a PEG ratio of 1.51 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 has a 1 year low of $118.74 and a 1 year high of $205.76. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $186.87 and its 200-day moving average price is $163.47.

Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) last announced 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%. Sell-side analysts expect that Discover Financial Services will post 13.88 earnings per share for the current year.

Discover Financial Services Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 6th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 23rd will be issued a dividend of $0.70 per share. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.44%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 23rd. Discover Financial Services’s payout ratio is currently 17.54%.

Discover Financial Services Company 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.