Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) Shares Bought by Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund

Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund grew its holdings in shares of Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) by 1,747.6% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 116,400 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 110,100 shares during the period. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund’s holdings in Discover Financial Services were worth $16,330,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. FMR LLC increased its position in Discover Financial Services by 8.0% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 7,493,862 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,051,314,000 after purchasing an additional 558,227 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in Discover Financial Services by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,728,276 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $242,460,000 after purchasing an additional 7,751 shares during the period. Cooke & Bieler LP increased its position in Discover Financial Services by 5.1% during the 2nd quarter. Cooke & Bieler LP now owns 1,281,950 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $167,692,000 after purchasing an additional 62,595 shares during the period. Hsbc Holdings PLC increased its position in Discover Financial Services by 6.7% during the 2nd quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 1,181,333 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $154,064,000 after purchasing an additional 73,902 shares during the period. Finally, AustralianSuper Pty Ltd grew its holdings in shares of Discover Financial Services by 0.5% in the 2nd quarter. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd now owns 1,162,495 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $152,066,000 after acquiring an additional 6,042 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.94% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. StockNews.com cut Discover Financial Services from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Evercore ISI upped their price target on Discover Financial Services from $156.00 to $163.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target 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. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target 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. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $138.81.

Discover Financial Services Trading Down 0.0 %

Shares of Discover Financial Services stock opened at $182.56 on Friday. Discover Financial Services has a fifty-two week low of $85.37 and a fifty-two week high of $188.26. The firm has a market cap of $45.84 billion, a PE ratio of 14.73, a P/E/G ratio of 1.17 and a beta of 1.41. The business’s fifty day moving average is $155.86 and its two-hundred day moving average is $139.27. The company has a quick ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28.

Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 16th. The financial services provider reported $3.69 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 company had revenue of $5.91 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.36 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.59 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Discover Financial Services will post 13.34 earnings per share for the current year.

Discover Financial Services Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 5th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 21st will be issued a dividend of $0.70 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 21st. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.53%. 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.