Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) Shares Sold by Griffin Asset Management Inc.

Griffin Asset Management Inc. lowered its position in Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) by 1.7% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 15,236 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 270 shares during the period. Griffin Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Discover Financial Services were worth $2,137,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in Discover Financial Services by 135.1% during the first quarter. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC now owns 7,793 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,022,000 after purchasing an additional 4,478 shares in the last quarter. Gabelli Funds LLC acquired a new stake in Discover Financial Services in the 1st quarter valued at $983,000. William B. Walkup & Associates Inc. acquired a new stake in Discover Financial Services in the 2nd quarter valued at $4,835,000. Janus Henderson Group PLC increased its holdings in Discover Financial Services by 61.0% in the 1st quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 62,529 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $8,197,000 after acquiring an additional 23,702 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Forge First Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in Discover Financial Services during the first quarter worth $13,341,000. 86.94% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently commented on DFS. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on shares of Discover Financial Services from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, July 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Discover Financial Services from $132.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, July 19th. StockNews.com initiated coverage on Discover Financial Services in a research report on Friday, October 11th. They issued a “hold” rating on the stock. Barclays lifted their price target on 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. Finally, BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on Discover Financial Services from $115.00 to $119.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, July 19th. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $133.88.

Discover Financial Services Trading Down 0.1 %

DFS opened at $147.14 on Wednesday. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $135.64 and its 200 day moving average price is $130.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a current ratio of 1.12. The stock has a market capitalization of $36.90 billion, a PE ratio of 16.78, a P/E/G ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 1.41. Discover Financial Services has a one year low of $79.04 and a one year high of $149.97.

Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 17th. The financial services provider reported $6.06 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.06 by $3.00. The business had revenue of $4.54 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.18 billion. Discover Financial Services had a return on equity of 20.92% and a net margin of 12.88%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 17.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $3.54 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Discover Financial Services will post 13.15 EPS for the current year.

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.