Crestwood Advisors Group LLC Makes New $237,000 Investment in Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS)

Crestwood Advisors Group LLC purchased a new position in Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund purchased 2,111 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $237,000.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Boston Partners grew its stake in shares of Discover Financial Services by 56.5% in the third quarter. Boston Partners now owns 8,597,250 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $743,663,000 after acquiring an additional 3,102,119 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC increased its holdings in Discover Financial Services by 4.4% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 5,686,848 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $492,652,000 after buying an additional 238,498 shares during the last quarter. Morgan Stanley increased its holdings in Discover Financial Services by 35.6% in the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 4,927,342 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $482,042,000 after buying an additional 1,293,260 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Discover Financial Services in the fourth quarter valued at $340,672,000. Finally, Northern Trust Corp increased its holdings in Discover Financial Services by 0.8% in the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 2,578,053 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $223,337,000 after buying an additional 20,333 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.94% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Discover Financial Services

In related news, CFO John Greene sold 35,191 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $106.51, for a total value 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 $1,980,233.92. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.50% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Discover Financial Services Price Performance

Shares of DFS opened at $121.31 on Tuesday. Discover Financial Services has a fifty-two week low of $79.04 and a fifty-two week high of $131.65. The company has a market capitalization of $30.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 1.45. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $120.83 and a 200-day simple moving average of $105.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.49, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a current ratio of 1.13.

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 net margin of 14.30% and a return on equity of 22.24%. Discover Financial Services’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $3.77 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Discover Financial Services will post 11.2 earnings per share for the current year.

Discover Financial Services Dividend Announcement

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently commented on DFS. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their target price on Discover Financial Services from $139.00 to $121.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 19th. Evercore ISI increased their target price on Discover Financial Services from $117.00 to $140.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a report on Thursday, February 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Discover Financial Services from $110.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. BMO Capital Markets dropped their target price on Discover Financial Services from $116.00 to $104.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 22nd. Finally, Citigroup increased their target price on Discover Financial Services from $127.00 to $168.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 23rd. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $125.22.

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; 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.