Thompson Investment Management Inc. Reduces Stock Holdings in Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS)

Thompson Investment Management Inc. trimmed its holdings in shares of Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) by 65.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 20,016 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 37,170 shares during the quarter. Thompson Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Discover Financial Services were worth $3,467,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Empowered Funds LLC grew its stake in Discover Financial Services by 12.3% during the 4th quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 5,928 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,027,000 after purchasing an additional 648 shares during the last quarter. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in Discover Financial Services by 18.3% in the 4th quarter. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,969 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $341,000 after purchasing an additional 305 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd increased its stake in Discover Financial Services by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd now owns 35,467 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $6,144,000 after buying an additional 106 shares in the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. increased its stake in Discover Financial Services by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 561,822 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $97,324,000 after buying an additional 3,134 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Strategic Financial Concepts LLC purchased a new stake in Discover Financial Services during the 4th quarter worth approximately $39,067,000. 86.94% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Discover Financial Services Stock Down 1.5 %

Shares of NYSE DFS opened at $199.73 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $50.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.51, a PEG ratio of 0.63 and a beta of 1.46. The company has a current ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09. Discover Financial Services has a 12-month low of $106.65 and a 12-month high of $205.76. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $183.23 and its 200-day simple moving average is $158.95.

Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 22nd. The financial services provider reported $5.11 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.13 by $1.98. Discover Financial Services had a return on equity of 26.18% and a net margin of 17.29%. As a group, equities analysts predict that Discover Financial Services will post 13.57 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Discover Financial Services Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 6th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 23rd will be paid a $0.70 dividend. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.40%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 23rd. Discover Financial Services’s dividend payout ratio is presently 17.54%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on DFS. StockNews.com lowered Discover Financial Services from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Evercore ISI upped their price target on 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. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on Discover Financial Services from $170.00 to $232.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, December 9th. UBS Group upgraded Discover Financial Services from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the company from $150.00 to $239.00 in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Discover Financial Services from $185.00 to $214.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Discover Financial Services currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $186.46.

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.