Axa S.A. Raises Stock Holdings in Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS)

Axa S.A. boosted its holdings in shares of Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) by 141.5% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 6,064 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,553 shares during the quarter. Axa S.A.’s holdings in Discover Financial Services were worth $793,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the business. J.Safra Asset Management Corp increased its stake in Discover Financial Services by 24.4% in the 2nd quarter. J.Safra Asset Management Corp now owns 387 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $51,000 after buying an additional 76 shares during the period. UMB Bank n.a. grew its holdings in Discover Financial Services by 0.9% during the 2nd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 9,139 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,195,000 after acquiring an additional 84 shares in the last quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC increased its position in Discover Financial Services by 3.1% during the 1st quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 2,888 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $379,000 after purchasing an additional 86 shares during the period. Optas LLC lifted its position in shares of Discover Financial Services by 4.3% in the 2nd quarter. Optas LLC now owns 2,147 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $281,000 after purchasing an additional 89 shares during the period. Finally, Conning Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Discover Financial Services by 4.1% during the second quarter. Conning Inc. now owns 2,371 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $310,000 after purchasing an additional 93 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.94% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently commented on DFS. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on shares of Discover Financial Services from $140.00 to $148.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Friday, July 19th. BTIG Research began coverage on Discover Financial Services in a research note on Friday, June 7th. They set a “neutral” rating for the company. 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 research note on Tuesday, July 9th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on shares of Discover Financial Services from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, July 8th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on shares of Discover Financial Services from $115.00 to $119.00 and gave the company 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 issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Discover Financial Services has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $132.94.

Discover Financial Services Trading Down 2.8 %

Shares of NYSE:DFS opened at $136.42 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $34.21 billion, a PE ratio of 15.56, a PEG ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 1.42. Discover Financial Services has a 12-month low of $79.04 and a 12-month high of $147.61. The business has a 50 day moving average of $134.43 and a two-hundred day moving average of $129.45. The company has a current ratio of 1.12, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28.

Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 17th. The financial services provider reported $6.06 earnings per share (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 the consensus estimate of $4.18 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $3.54 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 17.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts forecast that Discover Financial Services will post 12.88 EPS for the current year.

Discover Financial Services Announces Dividend

The firm 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 of this dividend was Thursday, August 22nd. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.05%. Discover Financial Services’s dividend payout ratio is presently 31.93%.

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.