Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) Shares Sold by Epoch Investment Partners Inc.

Epoch Investment Partners Inc. reduced its stake in shares of Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) by 2.9% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 12,521 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 380 shares during the quarter. Epoch Investment Partners Inc.’s holdings in Discover Financial Services were worth $1,638,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of DFS. TrinityPoint Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Discover Financial Services in the 4th quarter valued at about $300,000. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd purchased a new stake in Discover Financial Services in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $215,000. Wells Fargo & Company MN lifted its stake in Discover Financial Services by 8.4% in the fourth quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 406,092 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $45,645,000 after buying an additional 31,354 shares during the last quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Discover Financial Services by 9.5% in the fourth quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 32,145 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,613,000 after acquiring an additional 2,777 shares during the period. Finally, SageView Advisory Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Discover Financial Services during the fourth quarter worth approximately $250,000. 86.94% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

DFS has been the subject of several research reports. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on shares of Discover Financial Services from $145.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 9th. StockNews.com began coverage on shares of Discover Financial Services in a research note on Tuesday, September 17th. They set a “hold” rating for the company. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on Discover Financial Services from $140.00 to $148.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday, July 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Discover Financial Services from $132.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, July 19th. Finally, BTIG Research began coverage on Discover Financial Services in a research note on Friday, June 7th. They issued a “neutral” rating on the stock. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $132.94.

Discover Financial Services Stock Performance

Shares of DFS opened at $140.18 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 1.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28. Discover Financial Services has a 52-week low of $79.04 and a 52-week high of $147.61. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $134.84 and a 200-day simple moving average of $128.82. The company has a market capitalization of $35.15 billion, a PE ratio of 15.98, a P/E/G ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 1.42.

Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 17th. The financial services provider reported $6.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.06 by $3.00. The company had revenue of $4.54 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.18 billion. Discover Financial Services had a net margin of 12.88% and a return on equity of 20.92%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 17.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $3.54 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict 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. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 22nd were given a dividend of $0.70 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, August 22nd. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.00%. Discover Financial Services’s payout ratio 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.