Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) Shares Sold by Harbour Investments Inc.

Harbour Investments Inc. lowered its holdings in Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) by 6.8% during the second quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 2,096 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 153 shares during the period. Harbour Investments Inc.’s holdings in Discover Financial Services were worth $274,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in DFS. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Discover Financial Services in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $322,199,000. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA purchased a new stake in Discover Financial Services in the fourth quarter valued at $121,113,000. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in Discover Financial Services by 60.9% in the fourth quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,122,824 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $238,605,000 after acquiring an additional 803,738 shares in the last quarter. Elser Financial Planning Inc purchased a new position in shares of Discover Financial Services during the second quarter worth about $91,044,000. Finally, Canoe Financial LP acquired a new stake in shares of Discover Financial Services during the fourth quarter worth about $72,265,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.94% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the company. BTIG Research began coverage on Discover Financial Services in a research report on Friday, June 7th. They issued a “neutral” rating for the company. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on shares of Discover Financial Services from $145.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 9th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on shares of Discover Financial Services from $140.00 to $148.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, July 19th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on shares of Discover Financial Services from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, July 8th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective 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 eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $132.94.

Discover Financial Services Price Performance

Shares of DFS opened at $137.58 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $34.50 billion, a PE ratio of 15.69, a P/E/G ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 1.43. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $132.84 and its two-hundred day moving average is $126.54. Discover Financial Services has a twelve month low of $79.04 and a twelve month high of $147.61. The company has a current ratio of 1.12, a quick ratio of 1.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28.

Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 17th. The financial services provider reported $6.06 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.06 by $3.00. The firm had revenue of $4.54 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.18 billion. Discover Financial Services had a return on equity of 20.92% and a net margin of 12.88%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 17.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $3.54 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that Discover Financial Services will post 12.23 earnings per share for the current year.

Discover Financial Services Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 5th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 22nd will be issued a $0.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 22nd. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.04%. Discover Financial Services’s dividend payout ratio is presently 31.93%.

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; 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.