Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. Increases Position in Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS)

Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. grew its holdings in Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) by 8.1% in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 1,354 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 102 shares during the period. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co.’s holdings in Discover Financial Services were worth $190,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Discover Financial Services by 506.5% in the third quarter. DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. now owns 188 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 157 shares during the last quarter. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Discover Financial Services during the second quarter worth about $26,000. Y.D. More Investments Ltd increased its stake in shares of Discover Financial Services by 147.8% during the second quarter. Y.D. More Investments Ltd now owns 223 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 133 shares during the period. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. increased its stake in shares of Discover Financial Services by 72.5% during the second quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 226 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 95 shares during the period. Finally, Larson Financial Group LLC increased 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 worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 195 shares during the period. 86.94% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Discover Financial Services Stock Down 0.1 %

DFS stock opened at $182.50 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28, a current ratio of 1.08 and a quick ratio of 1.04. The firm has a market capitalization of $45.82 billion, a PE ratio of 14.73, a P/E/G ratio of 1.17 and a beta of 1.41. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $155.09 and its 200-day simple moving average is $138.97. Discover Financial Services has a 12 month low of $85.37 and a 12 month high of $188.26.

Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 business had revenue of $5.91 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.36 billion. Discover Financial Services had a net margin of 13.78% and a return on equity of 21.38%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.59 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that Discover Financial Services will post 13.34 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Discover Financial Services Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 5th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 21st will be paid a dividend of $0.70 per share. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.53%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 21st. Discover Financial Services’s payout ratio is 22.60%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on DFS shares. Evercore ISI boosted 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 research note on Wednesday, October 30th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Discover Financial Services from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on shares of 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. Finally, 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. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Discover Financial Services has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $138.81.

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.