Bruni J V & Co. Co. Sells 504 Shares of Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS)

Bruni J V & Co. Co. trimmed its holdings in Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) by 0.1% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 386,480 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 504 shares during the period. Discover Financial Services accounts for about 5.4% of Bruni J V & Co. Co.’s portfolio, making the stock its 6th biggest position. Bruni J V & Co. Co.’s holdings in Discover Financial Services were worth $43,440,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Discover Financial Services during the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Discover Financial Services in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Anchor Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Discover Financial Services during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $42,000. First Command Advisory Services Inc. bought a new stake in Discover Financial Services during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $39,000. Finally, Larson Financial Group LLC lifted its stake in Discover Financial Services by 105.8% in the 3rd quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 465 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 239 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.94% of the company’s stock.

Discover Financial Services Trading Up 1.6 %

DFS traded up $2.03 during trading on Friday, hitting $127.70. 1,154,892 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,204,117. The firm has a market capitalization of $32.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 1.45. Discover Financial Services has a 12-month low of $79.04 and a 12-month high of $131.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.49, a current ratio of 1.05 and a quick ratio of 1.13. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $123.80 and a 200 day moving average of $107.38.

Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 18th. The financial services provider reported $1.10 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.98 by ($1.88). Discover Financial Services had a return on equity of 16.74% and a net margin of 10.56%. The firm had revenue of $4.21 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.07 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $3.58 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate 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. Stockholders 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.19%. Discover Financial Services’s dividend payout ratio is currently 31.93%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently weighed in on DFS. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price target on shares of Discover Financial Services from $116.00 to $104.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 22nd. Morgan Stanley upgraded Discover Financial Services from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $105.00 to $133.00 in a research report on Thursday, February 8th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on shares of Discover Financial Services from $137.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, April 19th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Discover Financial Services from $105.00 to $135.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. Finally, Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Discover Financial Services from $120.00 to $123.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, April 19th. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Discover Financial Services 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.