2,850 Shares in Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) Purchased by AIA Group Ltd

AIA Group Ltd purchased a new position in Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 2,850 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $320,000.

Several other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Integral Investment Advisors Inc. increased its stake in Discover Financial Services by 9.9% in the 4th quarter. Integral Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 4,558 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $512,000 after buying an additional 409 shares during the period. Court Place Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Discover Financial Services in the 4th quarter worth about $210,000. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. increased its stake in Discover Financial Services by 4.7% in the 4th quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 22,319 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,509,000 after buying an additional 999 shares during the period. First Interstate Bank purchased a new position in Discover Financial Services in the 4th quarter worth about $279,000. Finally, Avior Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in Discover Financial Services by 31.5% in the 4th quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC now owns 7,928 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $891,000 after buying an additional 1,899 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.94% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Discover Financial Services news, CFO John Greene sold 35,191 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 18,592 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,980,233.92. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 0.69% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Discover Financial Services Stock Up 0.9 %

DFS stock opened at $125.35 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $122.02 and a 200 day moving average of $105.90. The stock 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 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 52 week low of $79.04 and a 52 week high of $131.65.

Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 18th. The financial services provider reported $1.10 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.98 by ($1.88). The company had revenue of $4.21 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.07 billion. Discover Financial Services had a return on equity of 16.74% and a net margin of 10.56%. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $3.58 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that Discover Financial Services will post 11.23 earnings per share for the current year.

Discover Financial Services Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have issued reports on the stock. HSBC increased their target price on shares of Discover Financial Services from $107.00 to $144.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, March 21st. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Discover Financial Services from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $105.00 to $133.00 in a report on Thursday, February 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Discover Financial Services from $110.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on shares of Discover Financial Services from $137.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday. Finally, Seaport Res Ptn cut shares of Discover Financial Services from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, March 15th. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Discover Financial Services currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $125.94.

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.