Patton Fund Management Inc. Sells 3,595 Shares of Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS)

Patton Fund Management Inc. cut its stake in shares of Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) by 13.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 23,919 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 3,595 shares during the quarter. Patton Fund Management Inc.’s holdings in Discover Financial Services were worth $4,143,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. boosted its stake in Discover Financial Services by 506.5% during the 3rd quarter. DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. now owns 188 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 157 shares during the last quarter. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Discover Financial Services during the third quarter valued at $30,000. Grove Bank & Trust increased its holdings in Discover Financial Services by 78.1% in the 4th quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 203 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 89 shares in the last quarter. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. raised its position in Discover Financial Services by 37.1% in the 3rd quarter. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. now owns 292 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $41,000 after buying an additional 79 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Venturi Wealth Management LLC raised its position in Discover Financial Services by 27.4% in the 3rd quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 316 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $44,000 after buying an additional 68 shares during the last quarter. 86.94% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on DFS. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Discover Financial Services from $146.00 to $169.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on shares of Discover Financial Services from $170.00 to $232.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Discover Financial Services from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Discover Financial Services from $185.00 to $214.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on Discover Financial Services from $193.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Discover Financial Services currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $182.64.

Discover Financial Services Price Performance

NYSE DFS opened at $199.84 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $50.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.52, a PEG ratio of 1.15 and a beta of 1.46. Discover Financial Services has a 12 month low of $104.08 and a 12 month high of $204.93. The company’s 50 day moving average is $179.90 and its two-hundred day moving average is $155.83. The company has a current ratio of 1.10, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09.

Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The financial services provider reported $5.11 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.13 by $1.98. Discover Financial Services had a net margin of 17.29% and a return on equity of 27.52%. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Discover Financial Services will post 12.82 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 Friday, June 6th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 23rd will be paid a $0.70 dividend. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.40%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 23rd. Discover Financial Services’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 17.54%.

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; 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.