The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company Has $86.98 Million Stock Position in Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS)

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company boosted its position in shares of Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) by 0.0% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 620,033 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 215 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company owned 0.25% of Discover Financial Services worth $86,984,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Elser Financial Planning Inc acquired a new stake in shares of Discover Financial Services in the second quarter worth about $91,044,000. Samlyn Capital LLC lifted 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 worth $84,594,000 after buying an additional 508,504 shares during the last quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC lifted its position in shares of Discover Financial Services by 1,272.0% in the third quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 265,155 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $37,199,000 after buying an additional 245,829 shares during the last quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. lifted its position in shares of Discover Financial Services by 67.1% in the second quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 478,599 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $62,606,000 after buying an additional 192,142 shares during the last quarter. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Discover Financial Services in the third quarter worth about $21,169,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.94% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have weighed in on DFS. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on Discover Financial Services from $148.00 to $161.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th. StockNews.com cut Discover Financial Services from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on Discover Financial Services from $156.00 to $163.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Discover Financial Services from $152.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s 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 Down 0.1 %

Shares of DFS opened at $182.50 on Thursday. Discover Financial Services has a 12-month low of $85.37 and a 12-month high of $188.26. The company has a quick ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28. The firm has a market capitalization of $45.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.73, a P/E/G ratio of 1.17 and a beta of 1.41. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $155.09 and its 200 day moving average price is $138.97.

Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 16th. The financial services provider reported $3.69 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.28 by $0.41. Discover Financial Services had a return on equity of 21.38% and a net margin of 13.78%. The firm had revenue of $5.91 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.36 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.59 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that Discover Financial Services will post 13.34 earnings per share for the current year.

Discover Financial Services Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 5th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 21st will be paid a $0.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 21st. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.53%. Discover Financial Services’s dividend payout ratio is currently 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.