Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) Shares Sold by ST Germain D J Co. Inc.

ST Germain D J Co. Inc. cut its holdings in shares of Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) by 15.6% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 627 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 116 shares during the period. ST Germain D J Co. Inc.’s holdings in Discover Financial Services were worth $82,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of DFS. Boston Partners grew its stake in shares of Discover Financial Services by 5.5% in the 4th quarter. Boston Partners now owns 9,072,829 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,017,046,000 after purchasing an additional 475,579 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in Discover Financial Services by 6.3% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,655,558 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $410,891,000 after buying an additional 217,475 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Discover Financial Services in the 4th quarter valued at $322,199,000. Brave Warrior Advisors LLC increased its stake in Discover Financial Services by 10.6% in the 4th quarter. Brave Warrior Advisors LLC now owns 2,633,167 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $295,968,000 after buying an additional 251,909 shares during the period. Finally, Envestnet Asset Management Inc. raised its position in Discover Financial Services by 60.9% during the 4th quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,122,824 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $238,605,000 after buying an additional 803,738 shares during the last quarter. 86.94% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. BTIG Research began coverage on shares of Discover Financial Services in a report on Friday, June 7th. They issued a “neutral” rating on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on Discover Financial Services from $145.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 9th. StockNews.com initiated coverage on Discover Financial Services in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. They set a “hold” rating for the company. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on Discover Financial Services from $115.00 to $119.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, July 19th. Finally, Barclays upped their price objective on Discover Financial Services from $135.00 to $137.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, July 19th. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $131.33.

Discover Financial Services Price Performance

Shares of NYSE DFS traded up $1.75 on Tuesday, hitting $125.27. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,634,861 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,795,491. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $130.49 and a 200-day moving average of $123.66. The company has a market capitalization of $31.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 1.43. Discover Financial Services has a 12-month low of $79.04 and a 12-month high of $147.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28, a current ratio of 1.12 and a quick ratio of 1.12.

Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 17th. The financial services provider reported $6.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.06 by $3.00. The firm had revenue of $4.54 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.18 billion. Discover Financial Services had a return on equity of 20.92% and a net margin of 12.88%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 17.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $3.54 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Discover Financial Services will post 12.23 EPS for the current year.

Discover Financial Services Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.24%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 22nd. Discover Financial Services’s payout ratio is currently 31.93%.

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.