NBC Securities Inc. Sells 7,372 Shares of Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS)

NBC Securities Inc. trimmed its stake in Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) by 81.5% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,675 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 7,372 shares during the quarter. NBC Securities Inc.’s holdings in Discover Financial Services were worth $219,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Boston Partners grew its holdings in Discover Financial Services by 5.5% in the fourth quarter. Boston Partners now owns 9,072,829 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,017,046,000 after purchasing an additional 475,579 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in Discover Financial Services by 6.3% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,655,558 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $410,891,000 after purchasing an additional 217,475 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Discover Financial Services in the fourth quarter worth $322,199,000. Brave Warrior Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Discover Financial Services by 10.6% in the fourth quarter. Brave Warrior Advisors LLC now owns 2,633,167 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $295,968,000 after purchasing an additional 251,909 shares during the period. Finally, Northern Trust Corp grew its holdings in Discover Financial Services by 0.8% in the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 2,578,053 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $223,337,000 after purchasing an additional 20,333 shares during the period. 86.94% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Discover Financial Services Stock Performance

Shares of DFS stock opened at $126.97 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $31.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.48, a P/E/G ratio of 0.78 and a beta of 1.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.50, a quick ratio of 1.12 and a current ratio of 1.12. Discover Financial Services has a 52 week low of $79.04 and a 52 week high of $131.65. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $124.34 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $117.92.

Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 18th. The financial services provider reported $1.10 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.98 by ($1.88). The company had revenue of $4.21 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.07 billion. Discover Financial Services had a return on equity of 17.07% and a net margin of 10.56%. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $3.58 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Discover Financial Services will post 11.46 earnings per share for the current year.

Discover Financial Services Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 6th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 23rd were given a $0.70 dividend. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.21%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, May 22nd. Discover Financial Services’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 31.93%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

DFS has been the subject of a number of research reports. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on shares of Discover Financial Services from $137.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, April 19th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Discover Financial Services from $105.00 to $135.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. StockNews.com initiated coverage on shares of Discover Financial Services in a report on Friday. They set a “hold” rating for the company. BTIG Research initiated coverage on shares of Discover Financial Services in a report on Friday, June 7th. They set a “neutral” rating for the company. Finally, Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Discover Financial Services from $120.00 to $123.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, April 19th. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Discover Financial Services presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $126.29.

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; private student loans, 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.