Banque Cantonale Vaudoise Grows Position in Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS)

Banque Cantonale Vaudoise boosted its position in shares of Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) by 127.6% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 8,067 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 4,522 shares during the quarter. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise’s holdings in Discover Financial Services were worth $1,132,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Bessemer Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Discover Financial Services by 3.8% in the 1st quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 13,349 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,750,000 after buying an additional 491 shares during the period. InterOcean Capital Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Discover Financial Services in the first quarter valued at approximately $205,000. Delap Wealth Advisory LLC acquired a new position in shares of Discover Financial Services in the first quarter valued at approximately $205,000. EP Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Discover Financial Services by 13.3% in the first quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 5,321 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $698,000 after buying an additional 626 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Axxcess Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Discover Financial Services by 135.1% in the first quarter. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC now owns 7,793 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,022,000 after buying an additional 4,478 shares in the last quarter. 86.94% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Discover Financial Services Price Performance

Shares of NYSE DFS opened at $172.80 on Thursday. Discover Financial Services has a 1-year low of $85.19 and a 1-year high of $188.26. The business has a 50-day moving average of $150.42 and a 200-day moving average of $136.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28, a current ratio of 1.08 and a quick ratio of 1.04. The company has a market capitalization of $43.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.95, a PEG ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 1.41.

Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 16th. The financial services provider reported $3.69 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.28 by $0.41. The firm had revenue of $5.91 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.36 billion. Discover Financial Services had a return on equity of 21.38% and a net margin of 13.78%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.59 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Discover Financial Services will post 13.23 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Discover Financial Services Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 5th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 21st will be issued a dividend of $0.70 per share. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.62%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 21st. Discover Financial Services’s dividend payout ratio is presently 22.60%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently weighed in on DFS. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on Discover Financial Services from $148.00 to $161.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on Discover Financial Services from $156.00 to $163.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. StockNews.com downgraded Discover Financial Services from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Discover Financial Services from $152.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $138.81.

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.