Intech Investment Management LLC Boosts Holdings in Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS)

Intech Investment Management LLC grew its position in Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) by 189.2% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 38,373 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 25,103 shares during the quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Discover Financial Services were worth $5,020,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Brave Warrior Advisors LLC raised its position 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 worth $295,968,000 after purchasing an additional 251,909 shares during the period. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. grew its stake 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 valued at $238,605,000 after buying an additional 803,738 shares during the last quarter. Cooke & Bieler LP raised its holdings in shares of Discover Financial Services by 5.1% in 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 lifted its stake in shares of Discover Financial Services by 67.5% during 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 acquiring an additional 506,801 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hsbc Holdings PLC boosted its holdings in Discover Financial Services by 6.7% during 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 acquiring an additional 73,902 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 86.94% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

DFS has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Barclays increased their target price on Discover Financial Services from $135.00 to $137.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, July 19th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted 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 report on Friday, July 19th. StockNews.com assumed coverage on shares of Discover Financial Services in a research note on Tuesday, September 17th. They issued a “hold” rating on the stock. BTIG Research initiated coverage on shares of Discover Financial Services in a research note on Friday, June 7th. They set a “neutral” rating for the company. Finally, BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on 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. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $132.94.

Discover Financial Services Trading Down 1.0 %

NYSE:DFS opened at $142.49 on Friday. 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. Discover Financial Services has a 52 week low of $79.04 and a 52 week high of $147.61. 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 firm has a 50 day moving average of $134.78 and a 200 day moving average of $128.63.

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, beating the consensus estimate of $3.06 by $3.00. The firm had revenue of $4.54 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.18 billion. Discover Financial Services had a return on equity of 20.92% and a net margin of 12.88%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $3.54 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 17.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Discover Financial Services will post 12.87 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Discover Financial Services Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared 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. 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%.

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.