Rhumbline Advisers Sells 4,051 Shares of Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS)

Rhumbline Advisers lowered its holdings in Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) by 0.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 508,242 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 4,051 shares during the period. Rhumbline Advisers owned approximately 0.20% of Discover Financial Services worth $88,043,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. National Pension Service boosted its holdings in Discover Financial Services by 14.8% in the 3rd quarter. National Pension Service now owns 439,756 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $61,693,000 after purchasing an additional 56,814 shares during the period. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Discover Financial Services by 10.5% during the 3rd quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 115,487 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $16,202,000 after acquiring an additional 10,946 shares during the period. Brookstone Capital Management bought a new stake in shares of Discover Financial Services during the 4th quarter worth approximately $282,000. Meyer Handelman Co. bought a new stake in shares of Discover Financial Services during the 4th quarter worth approximately $239,000. Finally, Janney Montgomery Scott LLC bought a new stake in shares of Discover Financial Services during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $2,415,000. Institutional investors own 86.94% of the company’s stock.

Discover Financial Services Trading Up 3.2 %

Shares of NYSE DFS opened at $196.14 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a current ratio of 1.09. Discover Financial Services has a 52-week low of $109.50 and a 52-week high of $205.76. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $184.70 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $160.75. The stock has a market cap of $49.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.63 and a beta of 1.46.

Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The financial services provider reported $5.11 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.13 by $1.98. Discover Financial Services had a net margin of 17.29% and a return on equity of 26.18%. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Discover Financial Services will post 13.57 EPS for the current year.

Discover Financial Services Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 6th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 23rd will be given a dividend of $0.70 per share. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.43%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 23rd. Discover Financial Services’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 17.54%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on shares of Discover Financial Services from $170.00 to $232.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. Evercore ISI upped their price target on shares of Discover Financial Services from $156.00 to $163.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Discover Financial Services from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Discover Financial Services from $186.00 to $209.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Discover Financial Services from $146.00 to $169.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $186.46.

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; 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.