Gladstone Institutional Advisory LLC Takes $336,000 Position in Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS)

Gladstone Institutional Advisory LLC bought a new stake in shares of Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 2,987 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $336,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd bought a new position in Discover Financial Services in the 4th quarter worth about $215,000. Norges Bank bought a new position in Discover Financial Services in the 4th quarter worth about $322,199,000. ING Groep NV boosted its stake in Discover Financial Services by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. ING Groep NV now owns 31,508 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,541,000 after purchasing an additional 129 shares in the last quarter. TrinityPoint Wealth LLC bought a new position in Discover Financial Services in the 4th quarter worth about $300,000. Finally, Financial Advocates Investment Management boosted its stake in Discover Financial Services by 6.6% in the 4th quarter. Financial Advocates Investment Management now owns 6,317 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $710,000 after purchasing an additional 391 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.94% of the company’s stock.

Discover Financial Services Trading Down 1.2 %

DFS stock opened at $122.81 on Friday. Discover Financial Services has a 1-year low of $79.04 and a 1-year high of $131.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.50, a current ratio of 1.12 and a quick ratio of 1.12. The company has a market capitalization of $30.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.00, a PEG ratio of 0.75 and a beta of 1.43. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $125.07 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $112.43.

Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 18th. The financial services provider reported $1.10 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.98 by ($1.88). Discover Financial Services had a return on equity of 17.07% and a net margin of 10.56%. The business had revenue of $4.21 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.07 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $3.58 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that Discover Financial Services will post 11.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Discover Financial Services Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 6th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 23rd will be given a dividend of $0.70 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 22nd. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.28%. Discover Financial Services’s dividend payout ratio is currently 31.93%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on DFS shares. Citigroup upped their price target on shares of Discover Financial Services from $127.00 to $168.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Discover Financial Services from $110.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. StockNews.com started coverage on Discover Financial Services in a research report on Monday. They issued a “hold” rating for the company. Seaport Res Ptn lowered Discover Financial Services from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, March 15th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on Discover Financial Services from $137.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, April 19th. Twelve 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, Discover Financial Services has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $126.29.

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.