Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) Holdings Raised by Moors & Cabot Inc.

Moors & Cabot Inc. increased its stake in Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) by 6.2% during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,767 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 278 shares during the quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc.’s holdings in Discover Financial Services were worth $669,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Elser Financial Planning Inc acquired a new position in shares of Discover Financial Services in the second quarter worth about $91,044,000. Samlyn Capital LLC boosted its stake in Discover Financial Services by 368.0% in the 2nd quarter. Samlyn Capital LLC now owns 646,691 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $84,594,000 after purchasing an additional 508,504 shares during the period. Mizuho Securities USA LLC grew its position in Discover Financial Services by 1,272.0% during the 3rd quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 265,155 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $37,199,000 after purchasing an additional 245,829 shares in the last quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. raised its stake in Discover Financial Services by 67.1% during the 2nd quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 478,599 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $62,606,000 after purchasing an additional 192,142 shares during the period. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Discover Financial Services in the third quarter worth $21,169,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.94% of the company’s stock.

Discover Financial Services Stock Performance

DFS opened at $179.07 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 business has a fifty day simple moving average of $152.29 and a 200 day simple moving average of $137.63. Discover Financial Services has a 1 year low of $85.19 and a 1 year high of $188.26. The company has a market capitalization of $44.96 billion, a PE ratio of 14.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.10 and a beta of 1.41.

Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 16th. The financial services provider reported $3.69 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.28 by $0.41. Discover Financial Services had a net margin of 13.78% and a return on equity of 21.38%. The company had revenue of $5.91 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.36 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.59 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Discover Financial Services will post 13.34 EPS for the current year.

Discover Financial Services Announces Dividend

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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