Financial Advocates Investment Management Purchases 124 Shares of Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS)

Financial Advocates Investment Management raised its stake in Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) by 1.9% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 6,686 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 124 shares during the period. Financial Advocates Investment Management’s holdings in Discover Financial Services were worth $938,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Cooke & Bieler LP lifted its position in shares of Discover Financial Services by 5.1% in the 2nd quarter. Cooke & Bieler LP now owns 1,281,950 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $167,692,000 after purchasing an additional 62,595 shares during the period. Hsbc Holdings PLC boosted its position in shares of Discover Financial Services by 6.7% in the second quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 1,181,333 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $154,064,000 after purchasing an additional 73,902 shares during the period. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd boosted its position in shares of Discover Financial Services by 0.5% in the second quarter. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd now owns 1,162,495 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $152,066,000 after purchasing an additional 6,042 shares during the period. Elser Financial Planning Inc bought a new position in shares of Discover Financial Services during the second quarter worth $91,044,000. Finally, Samlyn Capital LLC raised its stake in Discover Financial Services by 368.0% during the second quarter. Samlyn Capital LLC now owns 646,691 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $84,594,000 after purchasing an additional 508,504 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.94% of the company’s stock.

Discover Financial Services Stock Performance

Shares of DFS stock opened at $151.30 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28, a current ratio of 1.08 and a quick ratio of 1.04. The firm has a market cap of $37.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.21, a PEG ratio of 1.00 and a beta of 1.41. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $140.58 and its two-hundred day moving average is $132.71. Discover Financial Services has a fifty-two week low of $82.15 and a fifty-two week high of $157.06.

Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 16th. The financial services provider reported $3.69 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 company had revenue of $5.91 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.36 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.59 EPS. Analysts predict that Discover Financial Services will post 13.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Discover Financial Services Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced 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 1.85%. Discover Financial Services’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 22.60%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently commented 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 stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, July 19th. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on shares of Discover Financial Services from $156.00 to $163.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a report on Wednesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Discover Financial Services from $132.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, July 19th. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Discover Financial Services from $135.00 to $137.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, July 19th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on shares of Discover Financial Services from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, July 8th. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Discover Financial Services presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $138.81.

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.