Axxcess Wealth Management LLC Purchases 4,478 Shares of Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS)

Axxcess Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) by 135.1% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 7,793 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,478 shares during the quarter. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Discover Financial Services were worth $1,022,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in DFS. DAVENPORT & Co LLC lifted its position in Discover Financial Services by 335.4% during 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 stake in shares of Discover Financial Services by 238.7% during the fourth quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 14,783 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,662,000 after purchasing an additional 10,418 shares in the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Discover Financial Services by 1.8% during the fourth quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 916,367 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $103,000,000 after purchasing an additional 16,532 shares during the last quarter. Principal Securities Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Discover Financial Services in the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,073,000. Finally, Scotia Capital Inc. boosted its position in shares of Discover Financial Services by 57.6% in the 4th quarter. Scotia Capital Inc. now owns 25,404 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,855,000 after purchasing an additional 9,287 shares in the last quarter. 86.94% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Discover Financial Services from $132.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, July 19th. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on shares of Discover Financial Services from $115.00 to $119.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, July 19th. BTIG Research started coverage on shares of Discover Financial Services in a research report on Friday, June 7th. They set a “neutral” rating for the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on shares of Discover Financial Services from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, July 8th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Discover Financial Services from $105.00 to $135.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $131.33.

Discover Financial Services Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:DFS traded up $0.67 on Friday, reaching $142.29. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 829,096 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,825,082. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.50, a quick ratio of 1.12 and a current ratio of 1.07. Discover Financial Services has a 52-week low of $79.04 and a 52-week high of $147.61. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $128.62 and a 200 day simple moving average of $122.07. The company has a market cap of $35.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.15, a PEG ratio of 0.93 and a beta of 1.44.

Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 17th. The financial services provider reported $6.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.06 by $3.00. Discover Financial Services had a return on equity of 20.53% and a net margin of 12.88%. The business had revenue of $4.54 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.18 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $3.54 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 17.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Discover Financial Services will post 12.23 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Discover Financial Services Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 5th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 22nd will be paid a dividend of $0.70 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 22nd. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.97%. Discover Financial Services’s dividend payout ratio is currently 31.93%.

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.