Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) Stock Position Lowered by First National Trust Co

First National Trust Co decreased its holdings in Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) by 2.6% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 10,783 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 285 shares during the quarter. First National Trust Co’s holdings in Discover Financial Services were worth $1,513,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of DFS. Russell Investments Group Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Discover Financial Services by 34.5% during the 1st quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 272,516 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $35,646,000 after buying an additional 69,896 shares during the period. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. raised its stake in Discover Financial Services by 2.6% during the 1st quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. now owns 4,451 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $584,000 after purchasing an additional 114 shares during the last quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC grew its position in Discover Financial Services by 14.7% in the 1st quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC now owns 5,680 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $745,000 after purchasing an additional 730 shares during the last quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System increased its holdings in shares of Discover Financial Services by 24.9% during the 1st quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System now owns 346,901 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $45,475,000 after purchasing an additional 69,201 shares during the period. Finally, Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its position in shares of Discover Financial Services by 17.4% during the first quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 293,762 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $38,509,000 after buying an additional 43,439 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.94% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on DFS. StockNews.com cut Discover Financial Services from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Discover Financial Services from $135.00 to $137.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, July 19th. Evercore ISI increased 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 report on Wednesday, October 30th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on Discover Financial Services from $115.00 to $119.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, July 19th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Discover Financial Services from $132.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, July 19th. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $138.81.

Discover Financial Services Trading Down 2.1 %

Shares of DFS opened at $177.67 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a current ratio of 1.08. Discover Financial Services has a 52-week low of $82.68 and a 52-week high of $188.26. The firm has a market cap of $44.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.34, a PEG ratio of 1.13 and a beta of 1.41. The business’s fifty day moving average is $144.54 and its 200-day moving average is $134.68.

Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 16th. The financial services provider reported $3.69 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.59 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that Discover Financial Services will post 13.22 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Discover Financial Services Dividend Announcement

The business 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 $0.70 dividend. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.58%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 21st. Discover Financial Services’s payout ratio is 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.