Meeder Advisory Services Inc. Reduces Stock Position in Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS)

Meeder Advisory Services Inc. cut its stake in Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) by 18.0% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 5,705 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 1,254 shares during the quarter. Meeder Advisory Services Inc.’s holdings in Discover Financial Services were worth $800,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. National Pension Service grew its position in shares of Discover Financial Services by 14.8% during 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 in the last quarter. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC grew 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 buying an additional 4,478 shares in the last quarter. Gabelli Funds LLC bought a new position in Discover Financial Services in the 1st quarter worth about $983,000. William B. Walkup & Associates Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Discover Financial Services in the 2nd quarter valued at about $4,835,000. Finally, Janney Montgomery Scott LLC bought a new stake in shares of Discover Financial Services during the 3rd quarter valued at about $2,415,000. 86.94% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Discover Financial Services Stock Down 0.4 %

NYSE DFS opened at $172.54 on Wednesday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $149.54 and its 200 day moving average is $136.74. The stock has a market capitalization of $43.32 billion, a PE ratio of 13.93, a PEG ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 1.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28, a current ratio of 1.08 and a quick ratio of 1.04. Discover Financial Services has a 1 year low of $85.19 and a 1 year high of $188.26.

Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 16th. The financial services provider reported $3.69 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.59 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that Discover Financial Services will post 13.23 earnings per share for the current year.

Discover Financial Services Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 5th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 21st will be paid a dividend of $0.70 per share. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.62%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 21st. Discover Financial Services’s payout ratio is 22.60%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on DFS shares. StockNews.com lowered shares of Discover Financial Services from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Discover Financial Services from $152.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” 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 research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on Discover Financial Services from $148.00 to $161.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, October 18th. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $138.81.

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.