Griffin Asset Management Inc. Sells 230 Shares of Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS)

Griffin Asset Management Inc. trimmed its position in shares of Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) by 1.5% during the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 15,506 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 230 shares during the quarter. Griffin Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Discover Financial Services were worth $2,028,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of DFS. Busey Bank increased its stake in shares of Discover Financial Services by 0.7% in the 2nd quarter. Busey Bank now owns 96,329 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $12,601,000 after purchasing an additional 623 shares in the last quarter. KG&L Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Discover Financial Services by 23.7% in the 2nd quarter. KG&L Capital Management LLC now owns 2,737 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $358,000 after purchasing an additional 525 shares in the last quarter. Elser Financial Planning Inc purchased a new stake in shares of Discover Financial Services in the 2nd quarter worth $91,044,000. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Discover Financial Services in the 2nd quarter worth $380,000. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. increased its stake in shares of Discover Financial Services by 111.9% in the 2nd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 572 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $75,000 after purchasing an additional 302 shares in the last quarter. 86.94% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on Discover Financial Services from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, July 8th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on Discover Financial Services from $140.00 to $148.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Friday, July 19th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on Discover Financial Services from $145.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 9th. BTIG Research initiated coverage on Discover Financial Services in a report on Friday, June 7th. They set a “neutral” rating on the stock. Finally, Barclays raised their price target on Discover Financial Services from $135.00 to $137.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, July 19th. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $131.33.

Discover Financial Services Price Performance

Shares of DFS stock traded down $1.41 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $131.24. The stock had a trading volume of 1,154,477 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,731,741. Discover Financial Services has a one year low of $79.04 and a one year high of $147.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28, a current ratio of 1.12 and a quick ratio of 1.12. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $132.00 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $125.63. The stock has a market capitalization of $32.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.96, a PEG ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 1.43.

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

Discover Financial Services Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 5th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 22nd will be given a dividend of $0.70 per share. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.13%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 22nd. Discover Financial Services’s payout ratio is presently 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.