Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) Shares Purchased by Signaturefd LLC

Signaturefd LLC lifted its position in Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) by 4.0% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 7,309 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 282 shares during the period. Signaturefd LLC’s holdings in Discover Financial Services were worth $1,025,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in Discover Financial Services by 135.1% during 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 last quarter. Gabelli Funds LLC bought a new stake in shares of Discover Financial Services during the 1st quarter valued at about $983,000. William B. Walkup & Associates Inc. acquired a new stake in Discover Financial Services during the second quarter worth about $4,835,000. Janus Henderson Group PLC lifted its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 23,702 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Forge First Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in Discover Financial Services in the first quarter valued at approximately $13,341,000. 86.94% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Discover Financial Services Price Performance

Shares of NYSE DFS opened at $145.16 on Thursday. Discover Financial Services has a twelve month low of $79.04 and a twelve month high of $152.90. 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 50-day moving average of $138.26 and a two-hundred day moving average of $131.46. The company has a market capitalization of $36.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.55, a PEG ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 1.41.

Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 16th. The financial services provider reported $3.69 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.28 by $0.41. The firm had revenue of $5.91 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.36 billion. Discover Financial Services had a net margin of 12.88% and a return on equity of 20.92%. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.59 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that Discover Financial Services will post 13.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Discover Financial Services Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 5th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 21st will be given a dividend of $0.70 per share. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.93%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 21st. Discover Financial Services’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 31.93%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently issued reports on DFS. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on Discover Financial Services from $115.00 to $119.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, July 19th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on shares of Discover Financial Services from $148.00 to $161.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, October 18th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on shares of Discover Financial Services from $145.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 9th. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on shares of Discover Financial Services from $140.00 to $156.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research report on Monday, October 7th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on shares of Discover Financial Services from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, July 8th. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $136.12.

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; 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.