Belpointe Asset Management LLC Has $355,000 Stock Position in Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS)

Belpointe Asset Management LLC lowered its holdings in shares of Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS – Get Rating) by 31.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 3,631 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 1,696 shares during the period. Belpointe Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Discover Financial Services were worth $355,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in DFS. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Discover Financial Services by 155.1% during the third quarter. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. now owns 301 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 183 shares in the last quarter. Tsfg LLC increased its position in Discover Financial Services by 151.2% in the 4th quarter. Tsfg LLC now owns 309 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 186 shares during the period. CI Investments Inc. raised its position in Discover Financial Services by 982.4% during the 3rd quarter. CI Investments Inc. now owns 368 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 334 shares during the last quarter. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Discover Financial Services in the 4th quarter valued at $38,000. Finally, Old North State Trust LLC acquired a new stake in Discover Financial Services during the 3rd quarter worth about $39,000. Institutional investors own 81.74% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Stephens increased their price objective on shares of Discover Financial Services from $104.00 to $107.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, April 21st. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $125.00 price objective on shares of Discover Financial Services in a report on Friday, April 21st. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price target on shares of Discover Financial Services from $119.00 to $111.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 20th. Bank of America raised Discover Financial Services from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $107.00 price objective for the company in a report on Wednesday, March 15th. Finally, Credit Suisse Group restated an “outperform” rating and set a $120.00 price objective on shares of Discover Financial Services in a research note on Friday, April 21st. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $119.00.

Discover Financial Services Price Performance

Discover Financial Services stock opened at $95.23 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $24.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.41, a PEG ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 1.43. Discover Financial Services has a one year low of $87.64 and a one year high of $119.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37, a current ratio of 1.14 and a quick ratio of 1.14. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $99.32 and a 200-day moving average price of $104.07.

Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS – Get Rating) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 19th. The financial services provider reported $3.58 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.84 by ($0.26). Discover Financial Services had a return on equity of 31.30% and a net margin of 24.65%. The company had revenue of $3.75 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.71 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $4.22 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 29.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Discover Financial Services will post 13.43 EPS for the current year.

Discover Financial Services Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 8th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 25th will be paid a $0.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 24th. This is a boost from Discover Financial Services’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.94%. Discover Financial Services’s dividend payout ratio is currently 18.86%.

Discover Financial Services declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, April 19th that permits the company to repurchase $2.70 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the financial services provider to reacquire up to 9.8% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are typically a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at Discover Financial Services

In other Discover Financial Services news, EVP Robert Andrew Eichfeld sold 13,477 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $114.18, for a total value of $1,538,803.86. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 31,509 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,597,697.62. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.69% of the company’s stock.

Discover Financial Services Profile

(Get Rating)

Discover Financial Services is a holding company. It operates under the Digital Banking and Payment Services segments. The Digital Banking segment focuses on consumer banking and lending products, specifically Discover-branded credit cards issued to individuals on the Discover Network and other consumer banking products and services including private student loans, personal loans, home loans, and deposit products.