Pinnacle Associates Ltd. Has $4.54 Million Stock Position in Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS)

Pinnacle Associates Ltd. grew its position in Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) by 7.4% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 32,386 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 2,232 shares during the period. Pinnacle Associates Ltd.’s holdings in Discover Financial Services were worth $4,543,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Cooke & Bieler LP increased its stake in shares of Discover Financial Services by 5.1% in the 2nd quarter. Cooke & Bieler LP now owns 1,281,950 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $167,692,000 after buying an additional 62,595 shares during the period. Hsbc Holdings PLC grew its stake in shares of Discover Financial Services by 6.7% during the second quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 1,181,333 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $154,064,000 after purchasing an additional 73,902 shares during the period. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd grew its stake in shares of Discover Financial Services by 0.5% during the second quarter. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd now owns 1,162,495 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $152,066,000 after purchasing an additional 6,042 shares during the period. Elser Financial Planning Inc acquired a new stake in shares of Discover Financial Services during the second quarter worth $91,044,000. Finally, Samlyn Capital LLC grew its stake in shares of Discover Financial Services by 368.0% during the second quarter. Samlyn Capital LLC now owns 646,691 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $84,594,000 after purchasing an additional 508,504 shares during the period. 86.94% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

DFS has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Barclays lifted their price objective 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. StockNews.com initiated coverage on Discover Financial Services in a research note on Sunday, October 27th. They set a “buy” rating for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Discover Financial Services from $132.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, July 19th. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on Discover Financial Services from $156.00 to $163.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on Discover Financial Services from $148.00 to $161.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $136.53.

Discover Financial Services Price Performance

NYSE DFS opened at $148.43 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 1.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28. Discover Financial Services has a 12-month low of $81.09 and a 12-month high of $157.06. The company has a market capitalization of $37.27 billion, a PE ratio of 11.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 1.41. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $140.21 and its 200-day moving average is $132.50.

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 business had revenue of $5.91 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 in the previous year, the company earned $2.59 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Discover Financial Services will post 13.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Discover Financial Services Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 5th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 21st will be issued a dividend of $0.70 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 21st. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.89%. Discover Financial Services’s payout ratio is 22.60%.

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; 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.