Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. Decreases Stock Holdings in Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS)

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. trimmed its position in Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) by 2.6% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 558,688 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 14,665 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc.’s holdings in Discover Financial Services were worth $78,378,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Eagle Bluffs Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Discover Financial Services by 0.5% in the third quarter. Eagle Bluffs Wealth Management LLC now owns 14,501 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,034,000 after buying an additional 67 shares during the period. Venturi Wealth Management LLC increased its stake 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 worth $44,000 after buying an additional 68 shares during the period. Inlet Private Wealth LLC increased its stake in shares of Discover Financial Services by 2.4% in the third quarter. Inlet Private Wealth LLC now owns 3,185 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $447,000 after buying an additional 75 shares during the period. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. increased its stake in shares of Discover Financial Services by 0.4% in 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 buying an additional 75 shares during the period. Finally, J.Safra Asset Management Corp increased 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 buying an additional 76 shares during the period. 86.94% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently commented on DFS. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of 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. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on shares of Discover Financial Services from $115.00 to $119.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, July 19th. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Discover Financial Services from $135.00 to $137.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, July 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Discover Financial Services from $132.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, July 19th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Discover Financial Services from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $138.81.

Discover Financial Services Stock Performance

Shares of Discover Financial Services stock opened at $173.76 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $43.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.10, a PEG ratio of 1.15 and a beta of 1.41. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $146.12 and its 200 day moving average is $135.31. Discover Financial Services has a 1 year low of $84.00 and a 1 year high of $188.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28, a current ratio of 1.08 and a quick ratio of 1.04.

Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 16th. The financial services provider reported $3.69 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.28 by $0.41. The company had revenue of $5.91 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.36 billion. Discover Financial Services had a net margin of 13.78% and a return on equity of 21.38%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.59 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Discover Financial Services will post 13.22 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Discover Financial Services Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 5th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 21st will be paid a $0.70 dividend. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.61%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 21st. Discover Financial Services’s payout ratio is 22.60%.

Discover Financial Services 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.