Venturi Wealth Management LLC Buys 68 Shares of Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS)

Venturi Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) by 27.4% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 316 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 68 shares during the quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Discover Financial Services were worth $44,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Elser Financial Planning Inc purchased a new position in shares of Discover Financial Services during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $91,044,000. Magnetar Financial LLC purchased a new stake in Discover Financial Services in the first quarter worth $71,693,000. Samlyn Capital LLC raised its holdings in Discover Financial Services by 368.0% in the second quarter. Samlyn Capital LLC now owns 646,691 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $84,594,000 after purchasing an additional 508,504 shares in the last quarter. National Bank of Canada FI lifted its position in Discover Financial Services by 430.5% during the first quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 443,707 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $54,752,000 after buying an additional 360,074 shares during the period. Finally, Natixis lifted its position in Discover Financial Services by 1,041.9% during the first quarter. Natixis now owns 233,852 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $30,656,000 after buying an additional 213,373 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.94% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently issued reports on DFS shares. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on shares of Discover Financial Services from $148.00 to $161.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Friday, October 18th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on shares of Discover Financial Services from $115.00 to $119.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, July 19th. StockNews.com downgraded Discover Financial Services from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Discover Financial Services from $132.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, July 19th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Discover Financial Services from $152.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $138.81.

Discover Financial Services Trading Up 1.3 %

NYSE:DFS opened at $176.02 on Friday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $146.95 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $135.58. The company has a market cap of $44.19 billion, a PE ratio of 14.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.13 and a beta of 1.41. The company has a current ratio of 1.08, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28. Discover Financial Services has a 12 month low of $84.03 and a 12 month high of $188.26.

Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 16th. The financial services provider reported $3.69 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.28 by $0.41. The company had revenue of $5.91 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.36 billion. Discover Financial Services had a return on equity of 21.38% and a net margin of 13.78%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.59 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that Discover Financial Services will post 13.22 earnings per share for the current year.

Discover Financial Services Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 5th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 21st will be issued a $0.70 dividend. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.59%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 21st. Discover Financial Services’s payout ratio is 22.60%.

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; 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.