InterOcean Capital Group LLC Invests $205,000 in Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS)

InterOcean Capital Group LLC purchased a new stake in Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 1,566 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $205,000.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Ballentine Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Discover Financial Services by 3.1% in the 1st quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 2,888 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $379,000 after acquiring an additional 86 shares during the last quarter. Team Hewins LLC increased its position in Discover Financial Services by 5.5% during the first quarter. Team Hewins LLC now owns 1,887 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $247,000 after purchasing an additional 98 shares during the last quarter. Wealthspire Advisors LLC raised its stake in Discover Financial Services by 3.3% during the fourth quarter. Wealthspire Advisors LLC now owns 3,121 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $351,000 after purchasing an additional 99 shares during the period. Eagle Bluffs Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in Discover Financial Services by 0.8% in the 1st quarter. Eagle Bluffs Wealth Management LLC now owns 14,382 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,885,000 after purchasing an additional 108 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Premier Path Wealth Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Discover Financial Services by 5.1% in the 1st quarter. Premier Path Wealth Partners LLC now owns 2,230 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $292,000 after buying an additional 109 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.94% of the company’s stock.

Discover Financial Services Trading Up 1.0 %

NYSE DFS opened at $141.62 on Friday. Discover Financial Services has a 52 week low of $79.04 and a 52 week high of $147.61. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $128.62 and a two-hundred day moving average of $122.07. The stock has a market capitalization of $35.52 billion, a PE ratio of 16.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.93 and a beta of 1.44. The company has a quick ratio of 1.12, a current ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.50.

Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 17th. The financial services provider reported $6.06 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.06 by $3.00. The firm had revenue of $4.54 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.18 billion. Discover Financial Services had a return on equity of 20.53% and a net margin of 12.88%. Discover Financial Services’s revenue for the quarter was up 17.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $3.54 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that Discover Financial Services will post 12.23 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Discover Financial Services Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 5th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 22nd will be paid a dividend of $0.70 per share. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.98%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 22nd. Discover Financial Services’s payout ratio is 31.93%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently commented on DFS shares. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Discover Financial Services from $105.00 to $135.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. Barclays upped their price target on Discover Financial Services from $135.00 to $137.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, July 19th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on shares of Discover Financial Services from $140.00 to $148.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, July 19th. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on shares of Discover Financial Services from $115.00 to $119.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, July 19th. Finally, StockNews.com began coverage on shares of Discover Financial Services in a research note on Tuesday. They issued a “hold” rating on the stock. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Discover Financial Services presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $131.33.

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; 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.