Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) Shares Sold by Thompson Investment Management Inc.

Thompson Investment Management Inc. decreased its holdings in shares of Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) by 0.2% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 58,382 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 94 shares during the quarter. Thompson Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Discover Financial Services were worth $7,653,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Ballentine Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Discover Financial Services by 3.1% during the first quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 2,888 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $379,000 after buying an additional 86 shares in the last quarter. Wealthspire Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Discover Financial Services by 3.3% during the fourth quarter. Wealthspire Advisors LLC now owns 3,121 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $351,000 after buying an additional 99 shares in the last quarter. Simon Quick Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Discover Financial Services by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. Simon Quick Advisors LLC now owns 6,397 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $719,000 after buying an additional 109 shares in the last quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV lifted its position in shares of Discover Financial Services by 14.6% in the 1st quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 854 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $112,000 after acquiring an additional 109 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Czech National Bank lifted its position in shares of Discover Financial Services by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 43,796 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $4,923,000 after acquiring an additional 110 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.94% of the company’s stock.

Discover Financial Services Stock Down 0.8 %

Shares of Discover Financial Services stock traded down $1.05 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $125.37. 754,306 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,868,384. The company has a market cap of $31.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 1.41. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $124.60 and its 200 day simple moving average is $118.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.50, a quick ratio of 1.12 and a current ratio of 1.12. Discover Financial Services has a 52 week low of $79.04 and a 52 week high of $131.65.

Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 18th. The financial services provider reported $1.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.98 by ($1.88). Discover Financial Services had a net margin of 10.56% and a return on equity of 17.07%. The firm had revenue of $4.21 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.07 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $3.58 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that Discover Financial Services will post 11.46 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Discover Financial Services Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 6th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 23rd were paid a $0.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, May 22nd. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.23%. Discover Financial Services’s payout ratio is presently 31.93%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Discover Financial Services from $120.00 to $123.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, April 19th. StockNews.com assumed coverage on shares of Discover Financial Services in a research report on Friday, June 21st. They issued a “hold” rating for the company. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Discover Financial Services from $105.00 to $135.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on shares of Discover Financial Services from $137.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, April 19th. Finally, Seaport Res Ptn downgraded shares of Discover Financial Services from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, March 15th. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $126.29.

Discover Financial Services 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; private student loans, 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.