First Horizon Advisors Inc. Has $846,000 Holdings in Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS)

First Horizon Advisors Inc. grew its position in Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) by 8.2% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 6,028 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 459 shares during the quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Discover Financial Services were worth $846,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in DFS. Alpine Associates Management Inc. raised its position in Discover Financial Services by 2.2% during the third quarter. Alpine Associates Management Inc. now owns 878,164 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $123,198,000 after buying an additional 18,670 shares during the period. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG acquired a new position in shares of Discover Financial Services in the 3rd quarter valued at about $3,748,000. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise increased its holdings in shares of Discover Financial Services by 127.6% in the 3rd quarter. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise now owns 8,067 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,132,000 after purchasing an additional 4,522 shares during the period. Verity & Verity LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Discover Financial Services by 7.7% during the third quarter. Verity & Verity LLC now owns 4,380 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $614,000 after purchasing an additional 312 shares during the period. Finally, LMR Partners LLP purchased a new position in Discover Financial Services during the third quarter valued at approximately $7,838,000. 86.94% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently commented on DFS shares. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Discover Financial Services from $152.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on shares of Discover Financial Services from $148.00 to $161.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Friday, October 18th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Discover Financial Services from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Finally, Evercore ISI increased their target price on shares of Discover Financial Services from $156.00 to $163.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $138.81.

Discover Financial Services Trading Up 1.7 %

Shares of DFS opened at $175.01 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $151.33 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $137.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a current ratio of 1.08. The company has a market cap of $43.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.12, a PEG ratio of 1.10 and a beta of 1.41. Discover Financial Services has a 52-week low of $85.19 and a 52-week high of $188.26.

Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 16th. The financial services provider reported $3.69 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.28 by $0.41. Discover Financial Services had a net margin of 13.78% and a return on equity of 21.38%. The firm had revenue of $5.91 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.36 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.59 EPS. Analysts predict that Discover Financial Services will post 13.34 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Discover Financial Services Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 5th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 21st will be given a $0.70 dividend. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.60%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 21st. Discover Financial Services’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 22.60%.

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.