Tredje AP fonden Lowers Stock Position in Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS)

Tredje AP fonden reduced its position in Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) by 1.5% during the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 39,315 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 614 shares during the period. Tredje AP fonden’s holdings in Discover Financial Services were worth $5,143,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. J.Safra Asset Management Corp increased its stake in Discover Financial Services by 24.4% during the second quarter. J.Safra Asset Management Corp now owns 387 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $51,000 after acquiring an additional 76 shares during the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. increased its position in Discover Financial Services by 0.9% during the 2nd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 9,139 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,195,000 after purchasing an additional 84 shares in the last quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC raised its holdings in Discover Financial Services by 3.1% in the first quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 2,888 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $379,000 after buying an additional 86 shares during the period. Optas LLC raised its holdings in Discover Financial Services by 4.3% in the second quarter. Optas LLC now owns 2,147 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $281,000 after buying an additional 89 shares during the period. Finally, Conning Inc. lifted its position in Discover Financial Services by 4.1% during the second quarter. Conning Inc. now owns 2,371 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $310,000 after buying an additional 93 shares in the last quarter. 86.94% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Discover Financial Services Stock Performance

Shares of DFS stock opened at $136.11 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $34.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.52, a PEG ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 1.42. Discover Financial Services has a one year low of $79.04 and a one year high of $147.61. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $134.31 and its 200-day simple moving average is $128.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a current ratio of 1.12.

Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 17th. The financial services provider reported $6.06 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.06 by $3.00. Discover Financial Services had a return on equity of 20.92% and a net margin of 12.88%. The company had revenue of $4.54 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.18 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $3.54 EPS. Discover Financial Services’s quarterly revenue was up 17.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate that Discover Financial Services will post 12.87 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Discover Financial Services Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 5th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 22nd were issued a $0.70 dividend. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.06%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, August 22nd. Discover Financial Services’s dividend payout ratio is presently 31.93%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. BMO Capital Markets raised 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. StockNews.com began coverage on Discover Financial Services in a research report on Tuesday. They issued a “hold” rating on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on Discover Financial Services from $145.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Discover Financial Services from $132.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, July 19th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on Discover Financial Services from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, July 8th. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Discover Financial Services has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $132.94.

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.