Cooke & Bieler LP Has $150.53 Million Stake in Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS)

Cooke & Bieler LP lifted its holdings in shares of Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) by 19.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,339,198 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 220,728 shares during the quarter. Discover Financial Services comprises approximately 1.3% of Cooke & Bieler LP’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 29th biggest holding. Cooke & Bieler LP owned about 0.54% of Discover Financial Services worth $150,526,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC bought a new position in Discover Financial Services during the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Householder Group Estate & Retirement Specialist LLC bought a new position in Discover Financial Services during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $30,000. Resurgent Financial Advisors LLC bought a new position in Discover Financial Services during the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. boosted its stake in Discover Financial Services by 282.0% during the 3rd quarter. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. now owns 382 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 282 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Compass Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Discover Financial Services during the 4th quarter worth approximately $34,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.94% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently weighed in on DFS shares. HSBC lifted their price objective 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. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their price target on shares of Discover Financial Services from $140.00 to $111.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 19th. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on shares of Discover Financial Services from $117.00 to $140.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 22nd. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price target on shares of Discover Financial Services from $139.00 to $121.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 19th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on shares of Discover Financial Services from $137.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Discover Financial Services presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $125.94.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO John Greene sold 35,191 shares of the business’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 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 filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.69% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Discover Financial Services Price Performance

NYSE DFS opened at $125.35 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.13, a current ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.49. Discover Financial Services has a 12-month low of $79.04 and a 12-month high of $131.65. The company has a market capitalization of $31.41 billion, a PE ratio of 14.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.88 and a beta of 1.45. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $122.02 and its 200-day moving average is $106.03.

Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 18th. The financial services provider reported $1.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.98 by ($1.88). Discover Financial Services had a net margin of 10.56% and a return on equity of 16.74%. The business had revenue of $4.21 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.07 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $3.58 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Discover Financial Services will post 11.34 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Discover Financial Services Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 6th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 23rd will be issued a dividend of $0.70 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 22nd. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.23%. Discover Financial Services’s payout ratio is 31.93%.

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.