Truist Financial Corp Trims Stock Holdings in Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS)

Truist Financial Corp cut its holdings in shares of Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) by 44.7% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 300,118 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 242,302 shares during the quarter. Truist Financial Corp owned approximately 0.12% of Discover Financial Services worth $39,258,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in 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 acquiring an additional 4,478 shares in the last quarter. Gabelli Funds LLC bought a new stake in shares of Discover Financial Services in the 1st quarter worth about $983,000. Brave Warrior Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of 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 valued at $295,968,000 after purchasing an additional 251,909 shares in the last quarter. William B. Walkup & Associates Inc. bought a new position in shares of Discover Financial Services during the second quarter worth about $4,835,000. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC grew its stake in Discover Financial Services by 61.0% in the first quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 62,529 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $8,197,000 after purchasing an additional 23,702 shares in the last quarter. 86.94% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Discover Financial Services Trading Up 0.7 %

Shares of NYSE:DFS opened at $137.32 on Thursday. Discover Financial Services has a twelve month low of $79.04 and a twelve 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 firm has a market cap of $34.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.66, a P/E/G ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 1.42. The company has a 50 day moving average of $134.37 and a 200-day moving average of $129.50.

Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) last issued its quarterly 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. Discover Financial Services had a return on equity of 20.92% and a net margin of 12.88%. The firm had revenue of $4.54 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.18 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $3.54 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 17.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts anticipate that Discover Financial Services will post 12.88 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. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 22nd were given a $0.70 dividend. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.04%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, August 22nd. Discover Financial Services’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 31.93%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have issued reports on the company. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective 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. BMO Capital Markets raised 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. BTIG Research initiated coverage on shares of Discover Financial Services in a report on Friday, June 7th. They issued a “neutral” rating for the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on shares of Discover Financial Services from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, July 8th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Discover Financial Services from $132.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, July 19th. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $132.94.

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.