Wedmont Private Capital Has $356,000 Stock Holdings in Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS)

Wedmont Private Capital lifted its holdings in shares of Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) by 27.9% in the second quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 2,708 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 591 shares during the period. Wedmont Private Capital’s holdings in Discover Financial Services were worth $356,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of DFS. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Discover Financial Services in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Partnership Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Discover Financial Services during the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Riverview Trust Co bought a new position in shares of Discover Financial Services in the 1st quarter valued at $34,000. New Covenant Trust Company N.A. bought a new stake in Discover Financial Services during the 1st quarter worth $34,000. Finally, MeadowBrook Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Discover Financial Services during the fourth quarter valued at about $31,000. 86.94% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Discover Financial Services Stock Up 2.4 %

Shares of NYSE DFS traded up $2.91 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $126.62. 567,216 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,763,312. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28, a current ratio of 1.12 and a quick ratio of 1.12. Discover Financial Services has a 1-year low of $79.04 and a 1-year high of $147.61. The stock has a market cap of $31.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.35, a PEG ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 1.43. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $130.76 and a 200 day simple moving average of $124.52.

Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 17th. The financial services provider reported $6.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.06 by $3.00. The business had revenue of $4.54 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.18 billion. Discover Financial Services had a return on equity of 20.92% and a net margin of 12.88%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 17.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $3.54 EPS. On average, analysts expect that Discover Financial Services will post 12.23 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Discover Financial Services Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 5th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 22nd will be paid a dividend of $0.70 per share. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.21%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 22nd. Discover Financial Services’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 31.93%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have issued reports on DFS. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on shares of Discover Financial Services from $140.00 to $148.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday, July 19th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on Discover Financial Services from $145.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 9th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on Discover Financial Services from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, July 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Discover Financial Services from $132.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, July 19th. Finally, Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Discover Financial Services from $135.00 to $137.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, July 19th. Thirteen 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, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $131.33.

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.