PNC Financial Services Group Inc. Sells 7,431 Shares of Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS)

PNC Financial Services Group Inc. reduced its stake in Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS - Free Report) by 3.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 207,473 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 7,431 shares during the period. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. owned approximately 0.08% of Discover Financial Services worth $23,320,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Flputnam Investment Management Co. lifted its stake in Discover Financial Services by 7.9% during the third quarter. Flputnam Investment Management Co. now owns 2,646 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $229,000 after purchasing an additional 193 shares during the last quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC lifted its stake in Discover Financial Services by 335.4% during the fourth quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC now owns 63,796 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $7,171,000 after purchasing an additional 49,145 shares during the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its stake in 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 worth $103,000,000 after purchasing an additional 16,532 shares during the last quarter. Principal Securities Inc. bought a new stake in Discover Financial Services during the fourth quarter worth $1,073,000. Finally, Vest Financial LLC lifted its stake in Discover Financial Services by 18.8% during the fourth quarter. Vest Financial LLC now owns 121,753 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $13,685,000 after purchasing an additional 19,283 shares during the last quarter. 86.94% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on DFS. HSBC upped their price target on shares of Discover Financial Services from $107.00 to $144.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, March 21st. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a "sector perform" rating and set a $140.00 price target (up from $117.00) on shares of Discover Financial Services in a report on Wednesday, February 21st. Wolfe Research reiterated a "peer perform" rating on shares of Discover Financial Services in a report on Wednesday, February 21st. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on shares of Discover Financial Services from $137.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, April 19th. Finally, Evercore ISI upped their price target on shares of Discover Financial Services from $117.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock an "in-line" rating in a report on Thursday, February 22nd. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $126.29.

Discover Financial Services Trading Down 0.7 %

Discover Financial Services stock traded down $0.88 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $124.30. 1,977,438 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,021,584. The company has a quick ratio of 1.12, a current ratio of 1.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.50. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $125.09 and its 200 day simple moving average is $112.35. Discover Financial Services has a twelve month low of $79.04 and a twelve month high of $131.65. The firm has a market capitalization of $31.15 billion, a PE ratio of 14.17, a PEG ratio of 0.75 and a beta of 1.43.

Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly 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 17.07% and a net margin of 10.56%. The business had revenue of $4.21 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.07 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $3.58 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that Discover Financial Services will post 11.48 earnings per share for the current year.

Discover Financial Services Dividend Announcement

The business 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 dividend of $0.70 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 22nd. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.25%. Discover Financial Services's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 31.93%.

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; 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.