Renaissance Technologies LLC Has $29.51 Million Stake in Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS)

Renaissance Technologies LLC grew its position in Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) by 25.8% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 225,600 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 46,300 shares during the quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC owned about 0.09% of Discover Financial Services worth $29,511,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. J.Safra Asset Management Corp grew its position in shares of Discover Financial Services by 24.4% in the second quarter. J.Safra Asset Management Corp now owns 387 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $51,000 after purchasing an additional 76 shares during the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. grew its position in shares of Discover Financial Services by 0.9% in the second quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 9,139 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,195,000 after purchasing an additional 84 shares during the last quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Discover Financial Services by 3.1% in the first quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 2,888 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $379,000 after purchasing an additional 86 shares during the last quarter. Optas LLC grew its position in shares of Discover Financial Services by 4.3% in the second quarter. Optas LLC now owns 2,147 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $281,000 after purchasing an additional 89 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Conning Inc. grew its position in shares of Discover Financial Services by 4.1% in the second quarter. Conning Inc. now owns 2,371 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $310,000 after purchasing an additional 93 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.94% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on DFS. StockNews.com began coverage on Discover Financial Services in a research report on Tuesday. They set a “hold” rating on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on Discover Financial Services from $145.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 9th. Barclays increased their price target on Discover Financial Services from $135.00 to $137.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, July 19th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on Discover Financial Services from $115.00 to $119.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, July 19th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Discover Financial Services from $132.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, July 19th. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $132.94.

Discover Financial Services Stock Up 5.7 %

Shares of DFS opened at $143.92 on Friday. Discover Financial Services has a 52 week low of $79.04 and a 52 week high of $147.61. The stock has a market capitalization of $36.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.41, a PEG ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 1.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a current ratio of 1.12. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $134.56 and a 200-day moving average of $128.42.

Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 17th. The financial services provider reported $6.06 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.06 by $3.00. Discover Financial Services had a return on equity of 20.92% and a net margin of 12.88%. The company had revenue of $4.54 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.18 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $3.54 EPS. Discover Financial Services’s revenue was up 17.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Discover Financial Services will post 12.87 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Discover Financial Services Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 5th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 22nd were paid a $0.70 dividend. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.95%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, August 22nd. Discover Financial Services’s payout ratio is 31.93%.

Discover Financial Services 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.