Mount Yale Investment Advisors LLC Sells 13,243 Shares of Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS)

Mount Yale Investment Advisors LLC cut its holdings in Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) by 21.9% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 47,133 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 13,243 shares during the period. Mount Yale Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in Discover Financial Services were worth $6,165,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of DFS. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Discover Financial Services by 60.9% during the fourth quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,122,824 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $238,605,000 after purchasing an additional 803,738 shares in the last quarter. Elser Financial Planning Inc purchased a new stake in Discover Financial Services in the second quarter worth approximately $91,044,000. Magnetar Financial LLC purchased a new stake in Discover Financial Services in the first quarter worth approximately $71,693,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its position in Discover Financial Services by 67.5% during 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 during the last quarter. Finally, M&G Plc purchased a new position in shares of Discover Financial Services during the first quarter worth approximately $62,829,000. 86.94% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

DFS has been the topic of several recent research reports. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Discover Financial Services from $135.00 to $137.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, July 19th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on Discover Financial Services from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, July 8th. StockNews.com started coverage on Discover Financial Services in a research note on Tuesday, September 17th. They issued a “hold” rating for the company. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on Discover Financial Services from $140.00 to $148.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday, July 19th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on 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 investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $132.94.

Discover Financial Services Trading Down 1.0 %

NYSE:DFS opened at $142.49 on Friday. Discover Financial Services has a 12 month low of $79.04 and a 12 month high of $147.61. The company has a current ratio of 1.12, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $134.78 and a 200-day moving average price of $128.63. The stock has a market cap of $35.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.25, a P/E/G ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 1.42.

Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 17th. The financial services provider reported $6.06 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.06 by $3.00. Discover Financial Services had a return on equity of 20.92% and a net margin of 12.88%. The business had revenue of $4.54 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.18 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $3.54 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 17.0% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts predict that Discover Financial Services will post 12.87 EPS for the current year.

Discover Financial Services Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 5th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 22nd were paid a $0.70 dividend. 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 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.