Smith Salley Wealth Management Buys New Holdings in Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS)

Smith Salley Wealth Management purchased a new position in shares of Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 1,267 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $220,000.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. State Street Corp increased its position in Discover Financial Services by 0.8% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 10,498,044 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,472,771,000 after purchasing an additional 80,601 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC lifted its position in Discover Financial Services by 8.0% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 7,493,862 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,051,314,000 after buying an additional 558,227 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its stake in Discover Financial Services by 0.7% during the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 1,834,705 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $257,391,000 after buying an additional 12,255 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Discover Financial Services by 0.5% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,728,276 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $242,460,000 after acquiring an additional 7,751 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its stake in shares of Discover Financial Services by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 1,063,980 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $149,266,000 after acquiring an additional 4,594 shares during the period. 86.94% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Discover Financial Services Stock Up 1.2 %

NYSE:DFS opened at $187.17 on Monday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $176.94 and a 200 day simple moving average of $152.41. Discover Financial Services has a one year low of $96.46 and a one year high of $189.27. The company has a market capitalization of $47.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.99 and a beta of 1.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a current ratio of 1.10.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently weighed in on DFS shares. Barclays raised shares of Discover Financial Services from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $137.00 to $186.00 in a research report on Monday, January 6th. UBS Group raised Discover Financial Services from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $150.00 to $239.00 in a research report on Monday, January 13th. StockNews.com upgraded Discover Financial Services from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on Discover Financial Services from $170.00 to $232.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Discover Financial Services from $160.00 to $185.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Discover Financial Services currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $171.71.

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.