Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) Shares Acquired by Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc.

Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 1,728,276 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 7,751 shares during the quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Discover Financial Services were worth $242,460,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. National Pension Service boosted its position in Discover Financial Services by 14.8% in the third quarter. National Pension Service now owns 439,756 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $61,693,000 after buying an additional 56,814 shares during the last quarter. Gabelli Funds LLC purchased a new position in Discover Financial Services in the first quarter valued at $983,000. William B. Walkup & Associates Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Discover Financial Services in the second quarter worth about $4,835,000. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC purchased a new position in shares of Discover Financial Services in the 3rd quarter valued at about $2,415,000. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC raised 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 purchasing an additional 23,702 shares during the period. 86.94% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Discover Financial Services Stock Up 2.5 %

Discover Financial Services stock opened at $179.29 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $45.01 billion, a PE ratio of 14.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 1.41. 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 fifty-two week low of $85.19 and a fifty-two week high of $188.26. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $152.29 and a 200 day moving average price of $137.73.

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

Discover Financial Services Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared 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 of this dividend is Thursday, November 21st. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.56%. Discover Financial Services’s dividend payout ratio is presently 22.60%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

DFS has been the subject of a number of research reports. StockNews.com lowered shares of Discover Financial Services from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on shares of Discover Financial Services from $148.00 to $161.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, October 18th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price 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, Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on 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. Thirteen 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.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus 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.