GAMMA Investing LLC Boosts Stock Position in Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS)

GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in shares of Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) by 6.7% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,903 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 244 shares during the quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC’s holdings in Discover Financial Services were worth $548,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of DFS. Elser Financial Planning Inc acquired a new stake in shares of Discover Financial Services during the second quarter worth $91,044,000. Magnetar Financial LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Discover Financial Services in the 1st quarter worth $71,693,000. Samlyn Capital LLC lifted its stake in shares of Discover Financial Services by 368.0% in the 2nd quarter. Samlyn Capital LLC now owns 646,691 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $84,594,000 after acquiring an additional 508,504 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its holdings in shares of Discover Financial Services by 67.5% in the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 1,257,086 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $141,297,000 after acquiring an additional 506,801 shares in the last quarter. Finally, M&G Plc acquired a new position in shares of Discover Financial Services during the first quarter worth about $62,829,000. 86.94% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Discover Financial Services Stock Down 1.4 %

Shares of NYSE:DFS opened at $142.07 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 1.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28. The company has a market capitalization of $35.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.20, a P/E/G ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 1.41. Discover Financial Services has a 52-week low of $79.04 and a 52-week high of $147.61. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $134.35 and its 200-day simple moving average is $129.93.

Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) last released 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 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%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 17.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $3.54 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Discover Financial Services will post 12.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Discover Financial Services Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 5th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 22nd were given a dividend of $0.70 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, August 22nd. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.97%. Discover Financial Services’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 31.93%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

DFS has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada raised 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 report on Friday, July 19th. StockNews.com started coverage on Discover Financial Services in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. They issued a “hold” rating for the company. Barclays upped their price objective on Discover Financial Services from $135.00 to $137.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, July 19th. Evercore ISI raised their target price on Discover Financial Services from $140.00 to $156.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a report on Monday. Finally, 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 note on Tuesday, July 9th. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Discover Financial Services presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $133.88.

About Discover Financial Services

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.