Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV Has $2.67 Million Stake in Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS)

Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV trimmed its stake in Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) by 5.0% during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 20,417 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 1,079 shares during the period. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV’s holdings in Discover Financial Services were worth $2,671,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in DFS. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of Discover Financial Services by 135.1% in the first quarter. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC now owns 7,793 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,022,000 after purchasing an additional 4,478 shares during the period. D.A. Davidson & CO. lifted its position in Discover Financial Services by 238.7% during the 4th quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 14,783 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,662,000 after acquiring an additional 10,418 shares during the last quarter. Scotia Capital Inc. boosted its holdings in Discover Financial Services by 57.6% during the fourth quarter. Scotia Capital Inc. now owns 25,404 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,855,000 after acquiring an additional 9,287 shares during the period. Gabelli Funds LLC bought a new stake in Discover Financial Services during the first quarter valued at about $983,000. Finally, Brave Warrior Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Discover Financial Services by 10.6% in the fourth quarter. Brave Warrior Advisors LLC now owns 2,633,167 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $295,968,000 after purchasing an additional 251,909 shares during the last quarter. 86.94% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently weighed in on DFS shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price 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. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on Discover Financial Services from $115.00 to $119.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, July 19th. BTIG Research began coverage on shares of Discover Financial Services in a research report on Friday, June 7th. They set a “neutral” rating on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of 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, Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on shares of 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. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $132.94.

Discover Financial Services Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:DFS opened at $142.49 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28, a current ratio of 1.12 and a quick ratio of 1.04. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $134.78 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $128.69. Discover Financial Services has a fifty-two week low of $79.04 and a fifty-two week high of $147.61. The stock has a market capitalization of $35.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 1.42.

Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 17th. The financial services provider reported $6.06 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 business had revenue of $4.54 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.18 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $3.54 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 17.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts predict that Discover Financial Services will post 12.87 EPS 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. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 22nd were paid a $0.70 dividend. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.97%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, August 22nd. Discover Financial Services’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 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.