Leeward Investments LLC MA Takes Position in Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS)

Leeward Investments LLC MA acquired a new stake in shares of Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor acquired 63,840 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $7,176,000.

A number of other large investors have also bought and sold shares of DFS. Bryn Mawr Capital Management LLC increased its position in Discover Financial Services by 20.5% in the fourth quarter. Bryn Mawr Capital Management LLC now owns 19,639 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,207,000 after buying an additional 3,339 shares during the last quarter. Syon Capital LLC increased its position in Discover Financial Services by 8.4% in the fourth quarter. Syon Capital LLC now owns 3,180 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $357,000 after buying an additional 246 shares during the last quarter. Roffman Miller Associates Inc. PA increased its position in Discover Financial Services by 9.1% in the fourth quarter. Roffman Miller Associates Inc. PA now owns 6,164 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $693,000 after buying an additional 514 shares during the last quarter. Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. increased its position in Discover Financial Services by 29.7% in the fourth quarter. Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. now owns 12,167 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,368,000 after buying an additional 2,787 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Alaska Permanent Fund Corp increased its position in Discover Financial Services by 3.2% in the fourth quarter. Alaska Permanent Fund Corp now owns 21,056 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,367,000 after buying an additional 656 shares during the last quarter. 86.94% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the company. HSBC raised their price target on Discover Financial Services from $107.00 to $144.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, March 21st. StockNews.com initiated coverage on Discover Financial Services in a research note on Friday. They set a “hold” rating for the company. Seaport Res Ptn lowered Discover Financial Services from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, March 15th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on Discover Financial Services from $137.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, April 19th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their price objective on Discover Financial Services from $140.00 to $111.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 19th. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $126.29.

Discover Financial Services Trading Up 1.6 %

Shares of DFS traded up $2.03 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $127.70. The company had a trading volume of 1,136,120 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,202,638. The company has a quick ratio of 1.13, a current ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.49. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $123.80 and its 200 day moving average price is $107.27. Discover Financial Services has a 52-week low of $79.04 and a 52-week high of $131.65. The firm has a market cap of $32.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.56, a P/E/G ratio of 0.78 and a beta of 1.45.

Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) last issued its quarterly 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 the consensus estimate 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 period in the prior year, the firm earned $3.58 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that Discover Financial Services will post 11.39 EPS for the current year.

Discover Financial Services Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 6th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 23rd will be given a $0.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 22nd. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.19%. Discover Financial Services’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.