Captrust Financial Advisors Sells 1,460 Shares of Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS)

Captrust Financial Advisors trimmed its holdings in shares of Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) by 3.4% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 42,094 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 1,460 shares during the quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors’ holdings in Discover Financial Services were worth $5,905,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in DFS. Elser Financial Planning Inc bought a new stake in shares of Discover Financial Services during the 2nd quarter valued at $91,044,000. 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 purchasing an additional 558,227 shares in the last quarter. Samlyn Capital LLC grew its holdings in Discover Financial Services by 368.0% during the second quarter. Samlyn Capital LLC now owns 646,691 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $84,594,000 after purchasing an additional 508,504 shares during the period. Mizuho Securities USA LLC increased its position in Discover Financial Services by 1,272.0% in the third quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 265,155 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $37,199,000 after buying an additional 245,829 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Point72 Asset Management L.P. raised its stake in shares of Discover Financial Services by 67.1% in the second quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 478,599 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $62,606,000 after buying an additional 192,142 shares during the period. 86.94% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Discover Financial Services Price Performance

NYSE:DFS opened at $179.96 on Tuesday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $156.66 and its 200 day moving average is $139.87. Discover Financial Services has a 12 month low of $93.83 and a 12 month high of $188.26. The company has a market capitalization of $45.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.52, a P/E/G ratio of 1.16 and a beta of 1.41. The company has a current ratio of 1.08, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28.

Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 16th. The financial services provider reported $3.69 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.28 by $0.41. Discover Financial Services had a return on equity of 21.38% and a net margin of 13.78%. The business had revenue of $5.91 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.36 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.59 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Discover Financial Services will post 13.34 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Discover Financial Services Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 5th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 21st will be given a dividend of $0.70 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 21st. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.56%. Discover Financial Services’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 22.60%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective 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. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Discover Financial Services from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective 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. Finally, Evercore ISI lifted their target price on shares of Discover Financial Services from $156.00 to $163.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $138.81.

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.