Diversify Advisory Services LLC Increases Stake in Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS)

Diversify Advisory Services LLC lifted its stake in shares of Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) by 2.7% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 3,558 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 92 shares during the quarter. Diversify Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in Discover Financial Services were worth $518,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Cooke & Bieler LP increased its position in shares of Discover Financial Services by 5.1% during the second quarter. Cooke & Bieler LP now owns 1,281,950 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $167,692,000 after buying an additional 62,595 shares during the period. Hsbc Holdings PLC increased its position in shares of Discover Financial Services by 6.7% during the second quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 1,181,333 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $154,064,000 after buying an additional 73,902 shares during the period. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd increased its position in shares of Discover Financial Services by 0.5% during the second quarter. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd now owns 1,162,495 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $152,066,000 after buying an additional 6,042 shares during the period. Elser Financial Planning Inc purchased a new position in shares of Discover Financial Services during the second quarter valued at about $91,044,000. Finally, Samlyn Capital LLC increased its position in shares of Discover Financial Services by 368.0% during the second quarter. Samlyn Capital LLC now owns 646,691 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $84,594,000 after buying an additional 508,504 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.94% of the company’s stock.

Discover Financial Services Stock Up 2.5 %

Shares of Discover Financial Services stock opened at $154.44 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $38.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 1.41. The company’s 50 day moving average is $139.87 and its 200 day moving average is $132.39. Discover Financial Services has a twelve month low of $81.09 and a twelve month high of $157.06. The company has a quick ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 1.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28.

Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 16th. The financial services provider reported $3.69 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.28 by $0.41. Discover Financial Services had a net margin of 12.88% and a return on equity of 20.92%. The company had revenue of $5.91 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.36 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.59 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that Discover Financial Services will post 13.15 EPS for the current year.

Discover Financial Services Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 5th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 21st will be given a $0.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 21st. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.81%. Discover Financial Services’s payout ratio is presently 22.60%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

DFS has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on shares of Discover Financial Services from $115.00 to $119.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, July 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Discover Financial Services from $132.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, July 19th. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on shares of Discover Financial Services from $156.00 to $163.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a report on Wednesday. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Discover Financial Services from $135.00 to $137.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, July 19th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on shares of Discover Financial Services from $145.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 9th. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $136.53.

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.