Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) Shares Sold by Dimensional Fund Advisors LP

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lowered its stake in Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) by 0.3% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 3,688,683 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 10,700 shares during the quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP owned about 1.47% of Discover Financial Services worth $482,372,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Discover Financial Services in the fourth quarter valued at about $322,199,000. Brave Warrior Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Discover Financial Services by 10.6% in the fourth quarter. Brave Warrior Advisors LLC now owns 2,633,167 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $295,968,000 after purchasing an additional 251,909 shares during the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Discover Financial Services by 60.9% in the fourth quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,122,824 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $238,605,000 after purchasing an additional 803,738 shares during the last quarter. Cooke & Bieler LP boosted its holdings in Discover Financial Services by 5.1% in the second quarter. Cooke & Bieler LP now owns 1,281,950 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $167,692,000 after purchasing an additional 62,595 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its holdings in Discover Financial Services by 67.5% in the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 1,257,086 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $141,297,000 after purchasing an additional 506,801 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.94% of the company’s stock.

Discover Financial Services Stock Up 2.0 %

Shares of Discover Financial Services stock opened at $133.90 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.12, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $134.02 and its 200-day simple moving average is $128.14. The stock has a market capitalization of $33.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.27, a PEG ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 1.42. Discover Financial Services has a twelve month low of $79.04 and a twelve month high of $147.61.

Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 17th. The financial services provider reported $6.06 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.06 by $3.00. The business had revenue of $4.54 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.18 billion. Discover Financial Services had a return on equity of 20.92% and a net margin of 12.88%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 17.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $3.54 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Discover Financial Services will post 12.87 earnings per share for the current year.

Discover Financial Services Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 5th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 22nd were given a $0.70 dividend. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.09%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, August 22nd. Discover Financial Services’s dividend payout ratio is currently 31.93%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently commented on DFS shares. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on Discover Financial Services from $140.00 to $148.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, July 19th. Barclays increased 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. StockNews.com initiated coverage on Discover Financial Services in a report on Tuesday. They set a “hold” rating on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on Discover Financial Services from $145.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 9th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on Discover Financial Services from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, July 8th. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $132.94.

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; 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.