Park Avenue Securities LLC Reduces Stock Holdings in Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS)

Park Avenue Securities LLC trimmed its position in Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) by 0.9% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 39,710 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 360 shares during the period. Park Avenue Securities LLC’s holdings in Discover Financial Services were worth $5,194,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Partnership Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Discover Financial Services during the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. MeadowBrook Investment Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Discover Financial Services during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Riverview Trust Co bought a new stake in Discover Financial Services during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $34,000. New Covenant Trust Company N.A. bought a new stake in Discover Financial Services during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Finally, Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Discover Financial Services during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $35,000. 86.94% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently issued reports on DFS. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on Discover Financial Services from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, July 8th. Barclays lifted their target price 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. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on Discover Financial Services from $145.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 9th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on Discover Financial Services from $140.00 to $148.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Friday, July 19th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Discover Financial Services from $132.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, July 19th. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $131.33.

Discover Financial Services Trading Down 1.5 %

DFS traded down $1.86 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $123.41. 689,802 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,788,969. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $130.56 and a 200 day moving average price of $123.86. Discover Financial Services has a 52-week low of $79.04 and a 52-week high of $147.61. The company has a quick ratio of 1.12, a current ratio of 1.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28. The firm has a market capitalization of $30.95 billion, a PE ratio of 14.17, a PEG ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 1.43.

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

Discover Financial Services Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 5th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 22nd will be issued a dividend of $0.70 per share. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.27%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 22nd. Discover Financial Services’s payout ratio is currently 31.93%.

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; 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.