Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) Shares Purchased by Simplicity Solutions LLC

Simplicity Solutions LLC boosted its stake in Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) by 19.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. 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 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Boston Partners grew its holdings in Discover Financial Services by 56.5% during the 3rd quarter. Boston Partners now owns 8,597,250 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $743,663,000 after purchasing an additional 3,102,119 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC boosted its position in Discover Financial Services by 4.4% in the 3rd 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 grew its stake in shares of Discover Financial Services by 35.6% during the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 4,927,342 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $482,042,000 after acquiring an additional 1,293,260 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Discover Financial Services during the fourth quarter worth about $340,672,000. Finally, Northern Trust Corp lifted its stake in shares of 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 worth $223,337,000 after acquiring an additional 20,333 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.94% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on DFS shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their price objective on Discover Financial Services from $140.00 to $111.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 19th. Seaport Res Ptn downgraded shares of Discover Financial Services from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, March 15th. Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of Discover Financial Services from $127.00 to $168.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 23rd. Wolfe Research reaffirmed a “peer perform” rating on shares of Discover Financial Services in a research report on Wednesday, February 21st. Finally, Morgan Stanley upgraded Discover Financial Services from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $105.00 to $133.00 in a research note on Thursday, February 8th. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Discover Financial Services currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $125.22.

Discover Financial Services Stock Performance

DFS stock opened at $121.31 on Tuesday. Discover Financial Services has a 1 year low of $79.04 and a 1 year high of $131.65. The stock has a market capitalization of $30.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.78, a PEG ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 1.45. 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’s fifty day moving average is $120.83 and its two-hundred day moving average is $105.19.

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

Discover Financial Services Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Discover Financial Services news, CFO John Greene sold 35,191 shares of Discover Financial Services stock in a transaction 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 sale, the chief financial officer now owns 18,592 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,980,233.92. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.50% of the company’s stock.

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.