Appleton Partners Inc. MA Trims Stake in Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS)

Appleton Partners Inc. MA reduced its position in shares of Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) by 1.6% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 19,909 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 325 shares during the quarter. Appleton Partners Inc. MA’s holdings in Discover Financial Services were worth $2,610,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of DFS. DAVENPORT & Co LLC increased its holdings in shares of Discover Financial Services by 335.4% in the 4th quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC now owns 63,796 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $7,171,000 after acquiring an additional 49,145 shares during the period. D.A. Davidson & CO. increased its holdings in shares of Discover Financial Services by 238.7% in the 4th quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 14,783 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,662,000 after acquiring an additional 10,418 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its holdings in shares of Discover Financial Services by 1.8% in the 4th quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 916,367 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $103,000,000 after acquiring an additional 16,532 shares during the period. Principal Securities Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Discover Financial Services in the 4th quarter valued at $1,073,000. Finally, Vest Financial LLC increased its holdings in shares of Discover Financial Services by 18.8% in the 4th quarter. Vest Financial LLC now owns 121,753 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $13,685,000 after acquiring an additional 19,283 shares during the period. 86.94% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Discover Financial Services Stock Up 1.0 %

Shares of DFS opened at $126.95 on Wednesday. Discover Financial Services has a 52 week low of $79.04 and a 52 week high of $131.65. The company has a quick ratio of 1.12, a current ratio of 1.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.50. The company has a market capitalization of $31.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.48, a PEG ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 1.41. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $124.04 and its 200-day moving average price is $117.43.

Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) last issued 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). Discover Financial Services had a return on equity of 17.07% and a net margin of 10.56%. The company had revenue of $4.21 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.07 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $3.58 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Discover Financial Services will post 11.48 EPS for the current year.

Discover Financial Services Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 6th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 23rd were paid a $0.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, May 22nd. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.21%. Discover Financial Services’s payout ratio is 31.93%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on DFS. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $140.00 price target (up from $117.00) on shares of Discover Financial Services in a report on Wednesday, February 21st. Piper Sandler boosted their target price on Discover Financial Services from $127.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 23rd. Wolfe Research restated a “peer perform” rating on shares of Discover Financial Services in a research note on Wednesday, February 21st. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on Discover Financial Services from $117.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 22nd. Finally, BTIG Research assumed coverage on Discover Financial Services in a research note on Friday, June 7th. They set a “neutral” rating on the stock. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $126.29.

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.