AlphaQuest LLC Has $271,000 Stock Holdings in Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS)

AlphaQuest LLC trimmed its position in shares of Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) by 76.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,567 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 5,225 shares during the quarter. AlphaQuest LLC’s holdings in Discover Financial Services were worth $271,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Atria Investments Inc grew its stake in Discover Financial Services by 57.8% in the third quarter. Atria Investments Inc now owns 12,783 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,793,000 after acquiring an additional 4,684 shares during the period. Venturi Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Discover Financial Services by 27.4% during the 3rd quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 316 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $44,000 after purchasing an additional 68 shares in the last quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in Discover Financial Services by 14.0% during the 3rd quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,179 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $586,000 after purchasing an additional 513 shares in the last quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Discover Financial Services by 47.6% during the 3rd quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC now owns 2,774 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $389,000 after buying an additional 895 shares during the period. Finally, Metis Global Partners LLC lifted its stake in Discover Financial Services by 2.9% in the third quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC now owns 14,190 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,991,000 after buying an additional 400 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.94% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

DFS has been the subject of several research reports. Truist Financial increased their price objective on shares of Discover Financial Services from $233.00 to $262.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on Discover Financial Services from $193.00 to $210.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Discover Financial Services from $185.00 to $214.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. StockNews.com downgraded Discover Financial Services from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Barclays upped their price target on Discover Financial Services from $186.00 to $209.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Discover Financial Services presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $191.91.

Discover Financial Services Stock Performance

Shares of DFS stock opened at $164.67 on Friday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $187.69 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $168.06. Discover Financial Services has a one year low of $119.31 and a one year high of $205.76. The stock has a market cap of $41.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.32, a P/E/G ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 1.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09, a current ratio of 1.09 and a quick ratio of 1.03.

Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The financial services provider reported $5.11 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.13 by $1.98. Discover Financial Services had a net margin of 17.29% and a return on equity of 26.18%. As a group, equities analysts predict that Discover Financial Services will post 13.88 EPS for the current year.

Discover Financial Services Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 6th. Investors of record on Friday, May 23rd will be issued a dividend of $0.70 per share. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.70%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 23rd. Discover Financial Services’s payout ratio is presently 17.54%.

Discover Financial Services 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.