Forsta AP Fonden Boosts Stock Position in Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS)

Forsta AP Fonden boosted its holdings in shares of Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) by 10.1% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 65,400 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 6,000 shares during the period. Forsta AP Fonden’s holdings in Discover Financial Services were worth $9,175,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. raised its position in shares of Discover Financial Services by 506.5% during the 3rd quarter. DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. now owns 188 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 157 shares in the last quarter. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Discover Financial Services in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Y.D. More Investments Ltd boosted its holdings in shares of 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 worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 133 shares during the period. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. increased its position in shares of Discover Financial Services by 72.5% during 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 during the last quarter. Finally, Larson Financial Group LLC raised its holdings 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 valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 195 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 86.94% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

DFS has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target 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. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on shares of Discover Financial Services from $148.00 to $161.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Discover Financial Services from $152.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on Discover Financial Services from $145.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 9th. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $136.12.

Discover Financial Services Stock Up 4.0 %

Shares of Discover Financial Services stock 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 stock has a market cap of $37.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.98, a PEG ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 1.41. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $138.81 and its two-hundred day moving average is $131.81. Discover Financial Services has a 1 year low of $79.04 and a 1 year high of $157.06.

Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 16th. The financial services provider reported $3.69 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.28 by $0.41. The firm had revenue of $5.91 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.36 billion. Discover Financial Services had a net margin of 12.88% and a return on equity of 20.92%. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.59 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that Discover Financial Services will post 13.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Discover Financial Services Dividend Announcement

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