Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) Shares Sold by ING Groep NV

ING Groep NV lowered its holdings in shares of Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) by 59.2% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 12,655 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 18,341 shares during the period. ING Groep NV’s holdings in Discover Financial Services were worth $1,775,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings 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 worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 157 shares during the last quarter. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Discover Financial Services in the second quarter worth $26,000. Y.D. More Investments Ltd lifted its position in shares of Discover Financial Services by 147.8% in the second quarter. Y.D. More Investments Ltd now owns 223 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 133 shares in the last quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. lifted its position in shares of Discover Financial Services by 72.5% in the second quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 226 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 95 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Larson Financial Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Discover Financial Services by 348.2% during the second quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 251 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 195 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.94% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

DFS has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Evercore ISI lifted 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 cut shares of Discover Financial Services from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Discover Financial Services from $152.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, October 18th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on 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. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $138.81.

Discover Financial Services Stock Up 1.3 %

Shares of Discover Financial Services stock opened at $176.07 on Friday. Discover Financial Services has a twelve month low of $84.03 and a twelve month high of $188.26. The stock has a market cap of $44.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.13 and a beta of 1.41. The company has a current ratio of 1.08, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $147.90 and a 200 day moving average price of $135.91.

Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 16th. The financial services provider reported $3.69 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.28 by $0.41. The company had revenue of $5.91 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 in the prior year, the business earned $2.59 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Discover Financial Services will post 13.22 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Discover Financial Services Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.59%. Discover Financial Services’s payout ratio is currently 22.60%.

Discover Financial Services Company 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.