Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) Shares Purchased by Hsbc Holdings PLC

Hsbc Holdings PLC boosted its holdings in Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) by 6.7% during the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,181,333 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 73,902 shares during the period. Hsbc Holdings PLC owned 0.47% of Discover Financial Services worth $154,064,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in DFS. TrinityPoint Wealth LLC acquired a new position in Discover Financial Services during the fourth quarter worth $300,000. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd acquired a new position in Discover Financial Services during the fourth quarter worth $215,000. Gladstone Institutional Advisory LLC acquired a new position in Discover Financial Services during the fourth quarter worth $336,000. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in Discover Financial Services by 9.3% during the fourth quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. now owns 5,521 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $621,000 after purchasing an additional 468 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company MN lifted its stake in Discover Financial Services by 8.4% during the fourth quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 406,092 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $45,645,000 after purchasing an additional 31,354 shares in the last quarter. 86.94% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have commented on DFS. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on Discover Financial Services from $145.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 9th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on Discover Financial Services from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, July 8th. StockNews.com initiated coverage on Discover Financial Services in a research report on Tuesday. They set a “hold” rating on the stock. BTIG Research initiated coverage on Discover Financial Services in a research report on Friday, June 7th. They set a “neutral” rating on the stock. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on Discover Financial Services from $140.00 to $148.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday, July 19th. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Discover Financial Services currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $132.94.

Discover Financial Services Stock Performance

Shares of DFS stock opened at $136.11 on Thursday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $134.31 and its two-hundred day moving average is $128.31. The firm has a market cap of $34.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.52, a PEG ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 1.42. Discover Financial Services has a 1 year low of $79.04 and a 1 year high of $147.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a current ratio of 1.12.

Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 17th. The financial services provider reported $6.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.06 by $3.00. The company had revenue of $4.54 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.18 billion. Discover Financial Services had a return on equity of 20.92% and a net margin of 12.88%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 17.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $3.54 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Discover Financial Services will post 12.87 earnings per share for the current year.

Discover Financial Services Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 5th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 22nd were paid a dividend of $0.70 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, August 22nd. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.06%. Discover Financial Services’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 31.93%.

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.