Verdence Capital Advisors LLC Sells 1,013 Shares of Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS)

Verdence Capital Advisors LLC reduced its stake in Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) by 12.5% during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 7,112 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 1,013 shares during the period. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings in Discover Financial Services were worth $930,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of DFS. Boston Partners increased its stake in shares of Discover Financial Services by 5.5% in the fourth quarter. Boston Partners now owns 9,072,829 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,017,046,000 after buying an additional 475,579 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in Discover Financial Services by 6.3% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,655,558 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $410,891,000 after acquiring an additional 217,475 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Discover Financial Services during the fourth quarter worth about $322,199,000. Brave Warrior Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Discover Financial Services by 10.6% in the fourth quarter. Brave Warrior Advisors LLC now owns 2,633,167 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $295,968,000 after purchasing an additional 251,909 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Envestnet Asset Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Discover Financial Services by 60.9% in the 4th quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,122,824 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $238,605,000 after buying an additional 803,738 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.94% of the company’s stock.

Discover Financial Services Trading Down 0.1 %

NYSE:DFS opened at $132.74 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $33.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.14, a PEG ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 1.43. The company has a quick ratio of 1.12, a current ratio of 1.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $132.53 and its 200-day moving average price is $126.30. Discover Financial Services has a 52 week low of $79.04 and a 52 week high of $147.61.

Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 17th. The financial services provider reported $6.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.06 by $3.00. The business had revenue of $4.54 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.18 billion. Discover Financial Services had a return on equity of 20.92% and a net margin of 12.88%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 17.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $3.54 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Discover Financial Services will post 12.23 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Discover Financial Services Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 5th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 22nd will be given a $0.70 dividend. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.11%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 22nd. Discover Financial Services’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 31.93%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently commented on the company. Barclays raised their price target on Discover Financial Services from $135.00 to $137.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, July 19th. StockNews.com began coverage on Discover Financial Services in a research report on Saturday. They set a “hold” rating on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on Discover Financial Services from $140.00 to $148.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday, July 19th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on Discover Financial Services from $145.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 9th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Discover Financial Services from $132.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, July 19th. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Discover Financial Services has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $132.94.

Discover Financial Services 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; 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.