Cerity Partners LLC Sells 41,484 Shares of Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS)

Cerity Partners LLC cut its holdings in shares of Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) by 15.1% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 233,946 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 41,484 shares during the period. Cerity Partners LLC owned approximately 0.09% of Discover Financial Services worth $32,820,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Eagle Bluffs Wealth Management LLC grew 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 in the last quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC boosted 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 grew its stake in 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 in the last quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. increased its holdings in Discover Financial Services by 0.4% during the 3rd quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. now owns 17,664 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,478,000 after acquiring an additional 75 shares during the period. Finally, J.Safra Asset Management Corp increased its holdings in Discover Financial Services by 24.4% during the 2nd quarter. J.Safra Asset Management Corp now owns 387 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $51,000 after acquiring an additional 76 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.94% of the company’s stock.

Discover Financial Services Stock Performance

Discover Financial Services stock opened at $179.29 on Monday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $152.29 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $137.83. The company has a quick ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28. Discover Financial Services has a twelve month low of $85.19 and a twelve month high of $188.26. The company has a market capitalization of $45.01 billion, a PE ratio of 14.47, a P/E/G ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 1.41.

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

Discover Financial Services Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 5th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 21st 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 1.56%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 21st. Discover Financial Services’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 22.60%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Evercore ISI boosted their price target 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. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Discover Financial Services from $152.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock 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 company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, October 18th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered Discover Financial Services from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus 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.