Cooke & Bieler LP Buys 62,595 Shares of Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS)

Cooke & Bieler LP raised its stake in shares of Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) by 5.1% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 1,281,950 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 62,595 shares during the period. Discover Financial Services accounts for about 1.6% of Cooke & Bieler LP’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 20th biggest holding. Cooke & Bieler LP owned approximately 0.51% of Discover Financial Services worth $167,692,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of DFS. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Discover Financial Services during the fourth quarter valued at about $322,199,000. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA bought a new position in shares of Discover Financial Services in the fourth quarter worth about $121,113,000. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Discover Financial Services by 60.9% in the fourth quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,122,824 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $238,605,000 after acquiring an additional 803,738 shares during the period. Elser Financial Planning Inc bought a new position in shares of Discover Financial Services in the second quarter worth about $91,044,000. Finally, Canoe Financial LP bought a new position in shares of Discover Financial Services in the fourth quarter worth about $72,265,000. Institutional investors own 86.94% of the company’s stock.

Discover Financial Services Trading Down 0.0 %

NYSE:DFS traded down $0.03 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $138.09. The stock had a trading volume of 233,420 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,700,850. Discover Financial Services has a one year low of $79.04 and a one year high of $147.61. The company has a market capitalization of $34.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.75, a PEG ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 1.43. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $133.73 and a 200 day moving average of $127.45. The company has a quick ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 1.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28.

Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) last announced 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. 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.18 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $3.54 earnings per share. Discover Financial Services’s revenue was up 17.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Discover Financial Services will post 12.75 EPS for the current year.

Discover Financial Services Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 5th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 22nd will be given a dividend of $0.70 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 22nd. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.03%. Discover Financial Services’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 31.93%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on DFS. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on Discover Financial Services from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, July 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped 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. Barclays boosted their target price on Discover Financial Services from $135.00 to $137.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, July 19th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on Discover Financial Services from $145.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 9th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on Discover Financial Services from $140.00 to $148.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday, July 19th. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Discover Financial Services has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $132.94.

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.