Woodmont Investment Counsel LLC Lowers Position in Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS)

Woodmont Investment Counsel LLC reduced its stake in Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) by 47.2% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,654 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 1,480 shares during the quarter. Woodmont Investment Counsel LLC’s holdings in Discover Financial Services were worth $217,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Mutual Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Discover Financial Services by 22.9% during the 3rd quarter. Mutual Advisors LLC now owns 4,393 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $381,000 after purchasing an additional 818 shares during the last quarter. Trexquant Investment LP increased its position in shares of Discover Financial Services by 105.0% during the 3rd quarter. Trexquant Investment LP now owns 10,586 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $917,000 after purchasing an additional 5,423 shares during the last quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia grew its stake in shares of Discover Financial Services by 11.6% during the 3rd quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 24,829 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,151,000 after acquiring an additional 2,579 shares during the period. Teza Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Discover Financial Services during the 3rd quarter worth $494,000. Finally, Sherbrooke Park Advisers LLC bought a new position in shares of Discover Financial Services during the 3rd quarter worth $333,000. 86.94% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Discover Financial Services from $105.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. HSBC increased their price target on Discover Financial Services from $107.00 to $144.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 21st. Seaport Res Ptn downgraded Discover Financial Services from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, March 15th. BTIG Research assumed coverage on Discover Financial Services in a research note on Friday, June 7th. They issued a “neutral” rating for the company. Finally, StockNews.com assumed coverage on Discover Financial Services in a research note on Saturday. They issued a “hold” rating for the company. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $126.29.

Discover Financial Services Stock Performance

Shares of DFS opened at $133.60 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $33.50 billion, a PE ratio of 15.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.79 and a beta of 1.44. The company has a current ratio of 1.12, a quick ratio of 1.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.50. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $124.94 and a 200-day moving average price of $119.04. Discover Financial Services has a 12-month low of $79.04 and a 12-month high of $133.78.

Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 18th. The financial services provider reported $1.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.98 by ($1.88). The business had revenue of $4.21 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.07 billion. Discover Financial Services had a net margin of 10.56% and a return on equity of 17.07%. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $3.58 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Discover Financial Services will post 11.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Discover Financial Services Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 6th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 23rd were issued a dividend of $0.70 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, May 22nd. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.10%. Discover Financial Services’s dividend payout ratio is 31.93%.

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; private student loans, 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.