Meeder Advisory Services Inc. Decreases Stock Position in Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS)

Meeder Advisory Services Inc. lessened its stake in shares of Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) by 6.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 5,794 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 432 shares during the period. Meeder Advisory Services Inc.’s holdings in Discover Financial Services were worth $651,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Flputnam Investment Management Co. raised its holdings in Discover Financial Services by 7.9% during the 3rd quarter. Flputnam Investment Management Co. now owns 2,646 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $229,000 after buying an additional 193 shares during the period. DAVENPORT & Co LLC grew its position in Discover Financial Services by 335.4% in the 4th quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC now owns 63,796 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $7,171,000 after acquiring an additional 49,145 shares during the last quarter. Vest Financial LLC grew its position in Discover Financial Services by 18.8% in the 4th quarter. Vest Financial LLC now owns 121,753 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $13,685,000 after acquiring an additional 19,283 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James & Associates grew its position in Discover Financial Services by 27.1% in the 4th quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 339,717 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $38,184,000 after acquiring an additional 72,452 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cambridge Financial Group Inc. bought a new position in Discover Financial Services in the 3rd quarter valued at $4,697,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.94% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on DFS shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their price target on Discover Financial Services from $140.00 to $111.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 19th. Morgan Stanley upgraded Discover Financial Services from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $105.00 to $133.00 in a research note on Thursday, February 8th. HSBC upped their price objective on Discover Financial Services from $107.00 to $144.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 21st. Wolfe Research restated a “peer perform” rating on shares of Discover Financial Services in a research note on Wednesday, February 21st. Finally, Barclays decreased their price target on Discover Financial Services from $124.00 to $112.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 19th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $124.18.

Insider Activity at Discover Financial Services

In related news, CFO John Greene sold 35,191 shares of Discover Financial Services stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $106.51, for a total transaction of $3,748,193.41. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 18,592 shares in the company, valued at $1,980,233.92. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.50% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Discover Financial Services Trading Down 0.1 %

Shares of NYSE:DFS opened at $125.72 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $31.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.18, a PEG ratio of 1.35 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 business has a 50-day moving average price of $119.24 and a 200-day moving average price of $103.92. The company has a quick ratio of 1.13, a current ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.49.

Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 18th. The financial services provider reported $1.54 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.50 by ($0.96). The company had revenue of $4.20 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.10 billion. Discover Financial Services had a net margin of 14.30% and a return on equity of 22.24%. The firm’s revenue was up 12.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $3.77 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that Discover Financial Services will post 11.42 EPS for the current year.

Discover Financial Services Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 7th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 22nd were given a dividend of $0.70 per share. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.23%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 21st. Discover Financial Services’s dividend payout ratio is currently 24.89%.

Discover Financial Services 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; 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.