United Capital Financial Advisors LLC Has $2.47 Million Stock Position in Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS)

United Capital Financial Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) by 1.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 14,256 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 228 shares during the period. United Capital Financial Advisors LLC’s holdings in Discover Financial Services were worth $2,470,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in Discover Financial Services in the fourth quarter valued at $33,000. Flagship Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in Discover Financial Services during the fourth quarter worth about $34,000. Grove Bank & Trust increased its position in Discover Financial Services by 78.1% during the fourth quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 203 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 89 shares during the last quarter. Bfsg LLC bought a new stake in Discover Financial Services in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Finally, Hantz Financial Services Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Discover Financial Services in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.94% of the company’s stock.

Discover Financial Services Stock Up 2.3 %

NYSE DFS opened at $159.91 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $40.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.02, a PEG ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 1.20. Discover Financial Services has a 1-year low of $119.95 and a 1-year high of $205.76. The company has a current ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09. The company has a 50 day moving average of $172.12 and a 200-day moving average of $172.18.

Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The financial services provider reported $5.11 earnings per share 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%. On average, equities research analysts expect that Discover Financial Services will post 13.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Discover Financial Services Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 6th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 23rd will be issued a $0.70 dividend. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.75%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 23rd. Discover Financial Services’s dividend payout ratio is currently 17.54%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the company. StockNews.com lowered Discover Financial Services from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday. Truist Financial dropped their price objective on shares of Discover Financial Services from $262.00 to $219.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, March 21st. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Discover Financial Services from $186.00 to $209.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. UBS Group raised shares of Discover Financial Services from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the company from $150.00 to $239.00 in a report on Monday, January 13th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on Discover Financial Services from $169.00 to $129.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Discover Financial Services presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $188.40.

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.