Asset Management One Co. Ltd. Raises Position in Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS)

Asset Management One Co. Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 93,002 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 895 shares during the quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd.’s holdings in Discover Financial Services were worth $13,047,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. National Pension Service raised its stake in shares of Discover Financial Services by 14.8% during the third quarter. National Pension Service now owns 439,756 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $61,693,000 after purchasing an additional 56,814 shares during the period. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in Discover Financial Services by 135.1% in the 1st quarter. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC now owns 7,793 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,022,000 after buying an additional 4,478 shares in the last quarter. Gabelli Funds LLC purchased a new position in Discover Financial Services in the 1st quarter valued at about $983,000. William B. Walkup & Associates Inc. purchased a new position in Discover Financial Services in the 2nd quarter valued at about $4,835,000. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC grew its stake in shares of Discover Financial Services by 61.0% during the first quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 62,529 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $8,197,000 after acquiring an additional 23,702 shares in the last quarter. 86.94% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Discover Financial Services Trading Up 20.2 %

NYSE:DFS opened at $182.55 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $45.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.73, a P/E/G ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 1.41. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $142.21 and a 200 day simple moving average of $133.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28, a current ratio of 1.08 and a quick ratio of 1.04. Discover Financial Services has a 12-month low of $82.15 and a 12-month high of $188.26.

Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) last announced its quarterly 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. Discover Financial Services had a net margin of 13.78% and a return on equity of 21.38%. The company had revenue of $5.91 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.36 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.59 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Discover Financial Services will post 13.28 EPS for the current year.

Discover Financial Services Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 5th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 21st will be paid a $0.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 21st. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.53%. Discover Financial Services’s payout ratio is currently 22.60%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently commented on the company. StockNews.com cut Discover Financial Services from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday. Barclays upped their target price on Discover Financial Services from $135.00 to $137.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, July 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Discover Financial Services from $132.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, July 19th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Discover Financial Services from $152.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on shares of Discover Financial Services from $115.00 to $119.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, July 19th. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Discover Financial Services currently 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.