Camden National Bank Buys New Holdings in Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS)

Camden National Bank purchased a new position in Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 1,978 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $277,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Eagle Bluffs Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in Discover Financial Services by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. Eagle Bluffs Wealth Management LLC now owns 14,501 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,034,000 after buying an additional 67 shares during the last quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of Discover Financial Services by 27.4% in the third quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 316 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $44,000 after acquiring an additional 68 shares during the period. Inlet Private Wealth LLC raised its stake in shares of Discover Financial Services by 2.4% during the third quarter. Inlet Private Wealth LLC now owns 3,185 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $447,000 after acquiring an additional 75 shares during the last quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. boosted its holdings in shares of Discover Financial Services by 0.4% during the third quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. now owns 17,664 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,478,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares during the period. Finally, J.Safra Asset Management Corp grew its stake in shares of Discover Financial Services by 24.4% in the second 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 during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.94% of the company’s stock.

Discover Financial Services Trading Up 2.5 %

Shares of NYSE DFS opened at $179.29 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $45.01 billion, a PE ratio of 14.47, a P/E/G ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 1.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a current ratio of 1.08. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $152.29 and its 200-day moving average price is $137.73. Discover Financial Services has a 52-week low of $85.19 and a 52-week high of $188.26.

Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 16th. The financial services provider reported $3.69 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.28 by $0.41. The business had revenue of $5.91 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 business posted $2.59 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that Discover Financial Services will post 13.34 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Discover Financial Services Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 5th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 21st will be issued a $0.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 21st. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.56%. Discover Financial Services’s payout ratio is 22.60%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have commented on DFS shares. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Discover Financial Services from $152.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on Discover Financial Services from $148.00 to $161.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on shares of Discover Financial Services from $156.00 to $163.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of Discover Financial Services from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $138.81.

About Discover Financial Services

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.