First Bank & Trust Reduces Stock Position in Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS)

First Bank & Trust cut its stake in shares of Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) by 5.6% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 2,480 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 147 shares during the quarter. First Bank & Trust’s holdings in Discover Financial Services were worth $348,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

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

Discover Financial Services Stock Up 4.0 %

DFS stock traded up $5.78 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $148.90. 1,955,057 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,628,058. The company has a market cap of $37.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 1.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a current ratio of 1.12. Discover Financial Services has a 1-year low of $79.04 and a 1-year high of $157.06. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $138.81 and its 200 day simple moving average is $131.70.

Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 16th. The financial services provider reported $3.69 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 in the previous year, the company earned $2.59 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Discover Financial Services will post 13.15 earnings per share for the current year.

Discover Financial Services Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared 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. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.88%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 21st. Discover Financial Services’s dividend payout ratio is presently 31.93%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently weighed in on DFS. StockNews.com initiated coverage on shares of Discover Financial Services in a research note on Saturday, October 19th. They issued a “hold” rating for the company. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Discover Financial Services from $152.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on shares of Discover Financial Services from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, July 8th. Evercore ISI upped their target price on shares of Discover Financial Services from $140.00 to $156.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research note on Monday, October 7th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group boosted 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 note on Tuesday, July 9th. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus 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.