AustralianSuper Pty Ltd lessened its holdings in shares of Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) by 5.9% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,093,368 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 69,127 shares during the period. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd’s holdings in Discover Financial Services were worth $153,389,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.
A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Discover Financial Services in the second quarter valued at $26,000. DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. boosted its holdings in Discover Financial Services by 506.5% in the third 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 in the last quarter. Y.D. More Investments Ltd increased its stake in Discover Financial Services by 147.8% in the second quarter. Y.D. More Investments Ltd now owns 223 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 133 shares during the last quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. raised its holdings in Discover Financial Services by 72.5% during the second quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 226 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 95 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Larson Financial Group LLC lifted its position in shares of Discover Financial Services by 348.2% during the 2nd quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 251 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 195 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.94% of the company’s stock.
Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth
Several equities research analysts recently commented on DFS shares. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Discover Financial Services from $152.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, October 18th. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on Discover Financial Services from $115.00 to $119.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, July 19th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on Discover Financial Services from $148.00 to $161.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on shares of Discover Financial Services from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, July 8th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on shares of Discover Financial Services from $145.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 9th. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $136.53.
Discover Financial Services Stock Performance
DFS stock traded down $3.74 during trading on Thursday, hitting $150.76. 401,176 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,618,021. The company has a quick ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 1.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $139.87 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $132.39. The stock has a market capitalization of $37.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 1.41. Discover Financial Services has a 52 week low of $81.09 and a 52 week high of $157.06.
Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS – Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 16th. The financial services provider reported $3.69 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.28 by $0.41. The company had revenue of $5.91 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.36 billion. Discover Financial Services had a net margin of 12.88% and a return on equity of 20.92%. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.59 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Discover Financial Services will post 13.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.
Discover Financial Services Announces Dividend
The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 5th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 21st will be issued a $0.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 21st. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.86%. Discover Financial Services’s dividend payout ratio is presently 22.60%.
About Discover Financial Services
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.
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