Blue Trust Inc. Acquires 662 Shares of Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS)

Blue Trust Inc. grew its stake in shares of Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) by 115.7% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 1,234 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 662 shares during the quarter. Blue Trust Inc.’s holdings in Discover Financial Services were worth $161,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vicus Capital acquired a new stake in shares of Discover Financial Services in the first quarter valued at approximately $224,000. Norden Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Discover Financial Services in the first quarter valued at approximately $917,000. Kovack Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Discover Financial Services in the first quarter valued at approximately $228,000. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. raised its position in shares of Discover Financial Services by 5.9% in the first quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. now owns 16,044 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,103,000 after buying an additional 892 shares in the last quarter. Finally, New Century Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in Discover Financial Services during the first quarter valued at approximately $202,000. 86.94% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

DFS has been the subject of several research analyst reports. StockNews.com initiated coverage on shares of Discover Financial Services in a research report on Sunday. They set a “buy” rating for the company. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on shares of 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. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on shares of Discover Financial Services from $140.00 to $156.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research note on Monday, October 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Discover Financial Services from $132.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, July 19th. Finally, Barclays boosted their target price 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. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Discover Financial Services has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $136.12.

Discover Financial Services Stock Performance

DFS opened at $148.90 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28, a current ratio of 1.12 and a quick ratio of 1.04. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $138.81 and a 200 day moving average price of $131.81. Discover Financial Services has a 1 year low of $79.04 and a 1 year high of $157.06. The stock has a market cap of $37.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.98, a P/E/G ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 1.41.

Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 16th. The financial services provider reported $3.69 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.28 by $0.41. Discover Financial Services had a net margin of 12.88% and a return on equity of 20.92%. The business had revenue of $5.91 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.36 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.59 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Discover Financial Services will post 13.15 earnings per share for the current year.

Discover Financial Services Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 5th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 21st will be given a dividend of $0.70 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 21st. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.88%. Discover Financial Services’s dividend payout ratio is presently 31.93%.

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; 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.