Blair William & Co. IL Reduces Stake in Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS)

Blair William & Co. IL lessened its stake in shares of Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) by 27.0% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 37,793 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 14,006 shares during the period. Blair William & Co. IL’s holdings in Discover Financial Services were worth $4,944,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. J.Safra Asset Management Corp increased its position in Discover Financial Services by 24.4% during the second quarter. J.Safra Asset Management Corp now owns 387 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $51,000 after purchasing an additional 76 shares during the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. increased its holdings in shares of Discover Financial Services by 0.9% during the 2nd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 9,139 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,195,000 after buying an additional 84 shares during the last quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Discover Financial Services by 3.1% during the 1st quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 2,888 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $379,000 after buying an additional 86 shares during the period. Optas LLC lifted its holdings in 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 acquiring an additional 89 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Conning Inc. grew its position in Discover Financial Services by 4.1% in the second quarter. Conning Inc. now owns 2,371 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $310,000 after acquiring an additional 93 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.94% of the company’s stock.

Discover Financial Services Trading Down 1.0 %

DFS opened at $142.49 on Friday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $134.78 and a 200 day moving average price of $128.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28, a current ratio of 1.12 and a quick ratio of 1.04. Discover Financial Services has a 12 month low of $79.04 and a 12 month high of $147.61. The stock has a market capitalization of $35.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.25, a PEG ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 1.42.

Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 17th. The financial services provider reported $6.06 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.06 by $3.00. The business had revenue of $4.54 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 revenue for the quarter was up 17.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $3.54 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that Discover Financial Services will post 12.87 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Discover Financial Services Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 5th. Investors 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.97%. Discover Financial Services’s payout ratio is currently 31.93%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have commented on DFS shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on Discover Financial Services from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, July 8th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on shares of Discover Financial Services from $140.00 to $148.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, July 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Discover Financial Services from $132.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, July 19th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on shares of Discover Financial Services from $115.00 to $119.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, July 19th. Finally, Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Discover Financial Services from $135.00 to $137.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, July 19th. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $132.94.

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.