Park Avenue Securities LLC Grows Position in Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS)

Park Avenue Securities LLC raised its stake in Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) by 13.9% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 45,225 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 5,515 shares during the quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC’s holdings in Discover Financial Services were worth $6,345,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in DFS. Brave Warrior Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Discover Financial Services by 10.6% in the 4th quarter. Brave Warrior Advisors LLC now owns 2,633,167 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $295,968,000 after acquiring an additional 251,909 shares during the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in Discover Financial Services by 60.9% in the fourth quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,122,824 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $238,605,000 after purchasing an additional 803,738 shares during the last quarter. Cooke & Bieler LP lifted its position in Discover Financial Services by 5.1% during the second quarter. Cooke & Bieler LP now owns 1,281,950 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $167,692,000 after buying an additional 62,595 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its stake in Discover Financial Services by 67.5% in the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 1,257,086 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $141,297,000 after buying an additional 506,801 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hsbc Holdings PLC grew its holdings in Discover Financial Services by 6.7% in the 2nd quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 1,181,333 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $154,064,000 after buying an additional 73,902 shares during the period. 86.94% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Discover Financial Services Stock Up 6.2 %

Shares of DFS traded up $8.52 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $144.89. 1,149,460 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,653,686. The firm has a market cap of $36.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.52, a P/E/G ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 1.41. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $134.32 and a 200 day simple moving average of $129.72. 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 12-month low of $79.04 and a 12-month high of $147.61.

Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) last issued 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. Discover Financial Services had a net margin of 12.88% and a return on equity of 20.92%. The firm had revenue of $4.54 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.18 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $3.54 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 17.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts expect that Discover Financial Services will post 12.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Discover Financial Services Announces Dividend

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. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.93%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, August 22nd. Discover Financial Services’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 31.93%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

DFS has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. StockNews.com began coverage on shares of Discover Financial Services in a report on Thursday. They set a “hold” rating on the stock. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on shares of Discover Financial Services from $115.00 to $119.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, July 19th. 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 research note on Friday, July 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price 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. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on Discover Financial Services from $145.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 9th. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Discover Financial Services presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price 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.