Westwood Holdings Group Inc. Has $11.76 Million Stock Position in Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS)

Westwood Holdings Group Inc. decreased its stake in shares of Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) by 7.1% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 89,908 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 6,858 shares during the period. Westwood Holdings Group Inc.’s holdings in Discover Financial Services were worth $11,761,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Sei Investments Co. raised its stake in shares of Discover Financial Services by 58.8% in the 2nd quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 92,474 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $12,096,000 after purchasing an additional 34,226 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Discover Financial Services by 4.6% during the second quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 17,986 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,353,000 after buying an additional 797 shares in the last quarter. Bridges Investment Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Discover Financial Services in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $1,377,000. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board raised its position in Discover Financial Services by 22.5% in the 2nd quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 298,440 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $39,039,000 after buying an additional 54,820 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Benjamin Edwards Inc. lifted its stake in Discover Financial Services by 6.1% in the 2nd quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 1,813 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $237,000 after acquiring an additional 105 shares in the last quarter. 86.94% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. BTIG Research initiated coverage on shares of Discover Financial Services in a research report on Friday, June 7th. They issued a “neutral” rating for the company. 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 note on Monday, July 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Discover Financial Services from $132.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, July 19th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on shares of Discover Financial Services from $145.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 9th. Finally, StockNews.com began coverage on shares of Discover Financial Services in a research report on Tuesday, September 17th. They issued a “hold” rating for the company. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Discover Financial Services presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $132.94.

Discover Financial Services Stock Down 1.0 %

DFS stock opened at $142.49 on Friday. Discover Financial Services has a fifty-two week low of $79.04 and a fifty-two week high of $147.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28, a current ratio of 1.12 and a quick ratio of 1.04. 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. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $134.78 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $128.63.

Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) last released its quarterly earnings results 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.18 billion. Discover Financial Services had a net margin of 12.88% and a return on equity of 20.92%. Discover Financial Services’s revenue for the quarter was up 17.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $3.54 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Discover Financial Services will post 12.87 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, September 5th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 22nd were given a $0.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend 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 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.