Townsquare Capital LLC Has $669,000 Stock Holdings in Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS)

Townsquare Capital LLC increased its holdings in shares of Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) by 4.5% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 4,769 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 204 shares during the period. Townsquare Capital LLC’s holdings in Discover Financial Services were worth $669,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Elser Financial Planning Inc bought a new stake in shares of Discover Financial Services in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $91,044,000. FMR LLC grew its position in Discover Financial Services by 8.0% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 7,493,862 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,051,314,000 after acquiring an additional 558,227 shares during the period. Samlyn Capital LLC raised its stake in Discover Financial Services by 368.0% during the second quarter. Samlyn Capital LLC now owns 646,691 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $84,594,000 after acquiring an additional 508,504 shares in the last quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Discover Financial Services by 1,272.0% during the third quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 265,155 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $37,199,000 after acquiring an additional 245,829 shares during the period. Finally, Point72 Asset Management L.P. boosted its stake in shares of Discover Financial Services by 67.1% in the 2nd quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 478,599 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $62,606,000 after purchasing an additional 192,142 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.94% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have commented on DFS. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on shares of Discover Financial Services from $148.00 to $161.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Evercore ISI raised their price target on Discover Financial Services from $156.00 to $163.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective 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, StockNews.com cut Discover Financial Services from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $138.81.

Discover Financial Services Stock Down 1.0 %

NYSE:DFS opened at $178.31 on Wednesday. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $158.30 and its 200-day simple moving average is $140.63. The firm has a market capitalization of $44.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.39, a P/E/G ratio of 1.15 and a beta of 1.45. The company has a quick ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28. Discover Financial Services has a 12-month low of $93.83 and a 12-month high of $188.26.

Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) last issued 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. The firm had revenue of $5.91 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.36 billion. Discover Financial Services had a return on equity of 21.38% and a net margin of 13.78%. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $2.59 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that Discover Financial Services will post 13.34 earnings per share for the current year.

Discover Financial Services Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 5th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 21st will be issued a $0.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 21st. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.57%. Discover Financial Services’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 22.60%.

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.