1,277 Shares in Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) Acquired by Merit Financial Group LLC

Merit Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund acquired 1,277 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $221,000.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Discover Financial Services by 506.5% during the 3rd quarter. DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. now owns 188 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 157 shares in the last quarter. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Discover Financial Services during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $30,000. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. lifted its position in shares of Discover Financial Services by 37.1% during the 3rd quarter. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. now owns 292 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $41,000 after buying an additional 79 shares in the last quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in Discover Financial Services by 27.4% in the 3rd quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 316 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $44,000 after acquiring an additional 68 shares during the period. Finally, Decker Retirement Planning Inc. purchased a new stake in Discover Financial Services in the 4th quarter worth $47,000. 86.94% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently weighed in on DFS. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Discover Financial Services from $186.00 to $209.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on shares of Discover Financial Services from $170.00 to $232.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Discover Financial Services from $146.00 to $169.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday. Evercore ISI increased their price target on Discover Financial Services from $156.00 to $163.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, UBS Group raised Discover Financial Services from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $150.00 to $239.00 in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Discover Financial Services has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $180.57.

Discover Financial Services Stock Up 0.3 %

Shares of NYSE:DFS opened at $201.59 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $50.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.63, a PEG ratio of 1.15 and a beta of 1.46. Discover Financial Services has a 12-month low of $101.71 and a 12-month high of $204.93. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $178.82 and a 200 day moving average price of $154.68. The company has a current ratio of 1.10, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09.

Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The financial services provider reported $5.11 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.13 by $1.98. Discover Financial Services had a net margin of 17.29% and a return on equity of 27.52%. Sell-side analysts expect that Discover Financial Services will post 12.82 EPS for the current year.

Discover Financial Services Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 6th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 23rd will be paid a dividend of $0.70 per share. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.39%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 23rd. Discover Financial Services’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 17.54%.

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; 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.