Simplicity Solutions LLC Buys 1,797 Shares of Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS)

Simplicity Solutions LLC raised its stake in shares of Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) by 19.8% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 10,874 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,797 shares during the quarter. Simplicity Solutions LLC’s holdings in Discover Financial Services were worth $1,222,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in DFS. Penserra Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Discover Financial Services by 7.2% during the fourth quarter. Penserra Capital Management LLC now owns 1,451 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $141,000 after acquiring an additional 97 shares during the period. Toroso Investments LLC grew its holdings in shares of Discover Financial Services by 3.1% during the 1st quarter. Toroso Investments LLC now owns 3,299 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $364,000 after purchasing an additional 98 shares in the last quarter. TIAA FSB increased its position in shares of Discover Financial Services by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. TIAA FSB now owns 8,532 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $835,000 after purchasing an additional 102 shares during the period. Simon Quick Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Discover Financial Services by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. Simon Quick Advisors LLC now owns 6,397 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $719,000 after purchasing an additional 109 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Czech National Bank lifted its position in Discover Financial Services by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 43,796 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $4,923,000 after purchasing an additional 110 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.94% of the company’s stock.

Discover Financial Services Stock Up 0.3 %

NYSE DFS opened at $121.31 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $30.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 1.45. Discover Financial Services has a 52 week low of $79.04 and a 52 week high of $131.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.49, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a current ratio of 1.13. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $120.83 and a 200-day moving average of $105.19.

Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 18th. The financial services provider reported $1.54 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.50 by ($0.96). The firm had revenue of $4.20 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.10 billion. Discover Financial Services had a return on equity of 22.24% and a net margin of 14.30%. Discover Financial Services’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $3.77 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Discover Financial Services will post 11.2 EPS for the current year.

Discover Financial Services Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 7th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 22nd were paid a dividend of $0.70 per share. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.31%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 21st. Discover Financial Services’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 24.89%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

DFS has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Discover Financial Services from $112.00 to $120.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 9th. HSBC raised their price target on shares of Discover Financial Services from $107.00 to $144.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 21st. Piper Sandler upped their price objective on Discover Financial Services from $127.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 23rd. BMO Capital Markets cut their target price on Discover Financial Services from $116.00 to $104.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 22nd. Finally, Wolfe Research reaffirmed a “peer perform” rating on shares of Discover Financial Services in a research note on Wednesday, February 21st. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $125.22.

Insider Activity at Discover Financial Services

In other Discover Financial Services news, CFO John Greene sold 35,191 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $106.51, for a total transaction 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 accessible through this hyperlink. 0.50% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.