Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) Shares Purchased by Alley Investment Management Company LLC

Alley Investment Management Company LLC boosted its stake in shares of Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) by 0.4% in the second quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 77,897 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 327 shares during the period. Alley Investment Management Company LLC’s holdings in Discover Financial Services were worth $10,190,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Discover Financial Services during the 2nd quarter worth about $26,000. Y.D. More Investments Ltd raised its stake in Discover Financial Services by 147.8% in the 2nd quarter. Y.D. More Investments Ltd now owns 223 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 133 shares during the last quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. lifted its holdings in Discover Financial Services by 72.5% in the 2nd quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 226 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 95 shares in the last quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC boosted its stake in Discover Financial Services by 348.2% during the 2nd quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 251 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 195 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Riverview Trust Co purchased a new stake in shares of Discover Financial Services during the first quarter worth $34,000. 86.94% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on DFS shares. Barclays raised their price target on shares of 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. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on Discover Financial Services from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, July 8th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on Discover Financial Services from $145.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 9th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on Discover Financial Services from $115.00 to $119.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, July 19th. Finally, BTIG Research assumed coverage on Discover Financial Services in a report on Friday, June 7th. They issued a “neutral” rating for the company. Thirteen research 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, Discover Financial Services has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $132.94.

Discover Financial Services Price Performance

Discover Financial Services stock opened at $136.49 on Wednesday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $134.74 and its 200-day simple moving average is $128.93. 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 has a 1 year low of $79.04 and a 1 year high of $147.61. The company has a market capitalization of $34.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 1.42.

Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 17th. The financial services provider reported $6.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 analyst estimates of $4.18 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $3.54 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 17.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Discover Financial Services will post 12.88 earnings per share for the current year.

Discover Financial Services Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 5th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 22nd were issued a dividend of $0.70 per share. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.05%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, August 22nd. Discover Financial Services’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.