Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC Buys Shares of 2,908 Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS)

Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) in the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 2,908 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $380,000.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Blue Trust Inc. raised its stake in shares of Discover Financial Services by 111.9% during the 2nd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 572 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $75,000 after acquiring an additional 302 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its holdings in shares of Discover Financial Services by 1.1% during the 2nd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 25,989 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,400,000 after purchasing an additional 282 shares during the last quarter. J.Safra Asset Management Corp boosted its position in shares of Discover Financial Services by 24.4% in the 2nd quarter. J.Safra Asset Management Corp now owns 387 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $51,000 after purchasing an additional 76 shares in the last quarter. SteelPeak Wealth LLC boosted its position in shares of Discover Financial Services by 0.4% in the 2nd quarter. SteelPeak Wealth LLC now owns 27,824 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,640,000 after purchasing an additional 119 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. grew its stake in Discover Financial Services by 4.4% during the 2nd quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 68,361 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $8,942,000 after buying an additional 2,878 shares during the last quarter. 86.94% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

DFS has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. StockNews.com assumed coverage on Discover Financial Services in a research note on Friday, August 16th. They set a “hold” rating on the stock. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on shares of Discover Financial Services from $115.00 to $119.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, July 19th. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of 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. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on Discover Financial Services from $145.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 9th. Finally, BTIG Research began coverage on Discover Financial Services in a research report on Friday, June 7th. They set a “neutral” rating for the company. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Discover Financial Services presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $131.33.

Discover Financial Services Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:DFS traded down $1.90 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $133.36. 1,696,977 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,735,327. The company has a quick ratio of 1.12, a current ratio of 1.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $132.00 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $125.63. Discover Financial Services has a 52-week low of $79.04 and a 52-week high of $147.61. The company has a market cap of $33.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.21, a P/E/G ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 1.43.

Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 17th. The financial services provider reported $6.06 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.06 by $3.00. Discover Financial Services had a net margin of 12.88% and a return on equity of 20.92%. The company had revenue of $4.54 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.18 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $3.54 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 17.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts predict that Discover Financial Services will post 12.23 EPS for the current year.

Discover Financial Services Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 5th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 22nd will be given a dividend of $0.70 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 22nd. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.10%. Discover Financial Services’s dividend payout ratio is currently 31.93%.

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.