Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) Shares Bought by Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd.

Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its holdings in Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) by 10.5% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 115,487 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 10,946 shares during the period. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd.’s holdings in Discover Financial Services were worth $16,202,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of DFS. CTC Alternative Strategies Ltd. grew its holdings in Discover Financial Services by 3.2% during the 3rd quarter. CTC Alternative Strategies Ltd. now owns 2,047 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $287,000 after buying an additional 63 shares during the last quarter. Eagle Bluffs Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Discover Financial Services by 0.5% during the third quarter. Eagle Bluffs Wealth Management LLC now owns 14,501 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,034,000 after acquiring an additional 67 shares during the last quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC increased its position in Discover Financial Services by 27.4% during the 3rd quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 316 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $44,000 after purchasing an additional 68 shares in the last quarter. Inlet Private Wealth LLC raised its stake in Discover Financial Services by 2.4% in the 3rd quarter. Inlet Private Wealth LLC now owns 3,185 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $447,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. lifted its holdings in Discover Financial Services by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. now owns 17,664 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,478,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. 86.94% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Discover Financial Services Price Performance

Shares of NYSE DFS opened at $175.78 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $161.42 and a two-hundred day moving average of $142.13. The company has a market capitalization of $44.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.19, a PEG ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 1.45. The company has a current ratio of 1.08, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28. Discover Financial Services has a twelve month low of $96.46 and a twelve month high of $188.26.

Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 16th. The financial services provider reported $3.69 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.28 by $0.41. The business had revenue of $5.91 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.36 billion. Discover Financial Services had a return on equity of 21.38% and a net margin of 13.78%. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.59 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Discover Financial Services will post 13.34 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Discover Financial Services Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 5th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 21st were given a $0.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, November 21st. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.59%. Discover Financial Services’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 22.60%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on DFS. StockNews.com lowered shares of Discover Financial Services from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on Discover Financial Services from $170.00 to $232.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Discover Financial Services from $135.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday. Evercore ISI increased their price target on shares of Discover Financial Services from $156.00 to $163.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Discover Financial Services from $152.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $146.13.

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.