Stolper Co Boosts Position in Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS)

Stolper Co lifted its position in Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) by 3.3% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 52,431 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 1,689 shares during the quarter. Discover Financial Services makes up approximately 2.4% of Stolper Co’s portfolio, making the stock its 13th biggest holding. Stolper Co’s holdings in Discover Financial Services were worth $6,858,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Discover Financial Services in the 4th quarter worth approximately $322,199,000. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 803,738 shares during the period. Elser Financial Planning Inc purchased a new stake in shares of Discover Financial Services in the second quarter worth $91,044,000. Magnetar Financial LLC bought a new stake in Discover Financial Services during the first quarter valued at $71,693,000. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its position in Discover Financial Services by 67.5% during the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 1,257,086 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $141,297,000 after buying an additional 506,801 shares in the last quarter. 86.94% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Discover Financial Services Trading Up 1.6 %

Shares of DFS opened at $131.33 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $133.92 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $127.97. Discover Financial Services has a twelve month low of $79.04 and a twelve month high of $147.61. The stock has a market capitalization of $32.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.97, a PEG ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 1.42. 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 results 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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. On average, research analysts anticipate that Discover Financial Services will post 12.87 EPS for the current year.

Discover Financial Services Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 5th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 22nd were paid a $0.70 dividend. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.13%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, August 22nd. Discover Financial Services’s payout ratio is 31.93%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

DFS has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. StockNews.com started coverage on Discover Financial Services in a report on Monday, September 9th. They issued a “hold” rating on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Discover Financial Services from $132.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, July 19th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on shares of Discover Financial Services from $145.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 9th. BTIG Research began coverage on shares of Discover Financial Services in a research report on Friday, June 7th. They set a “neutral” rating on the stock. Finally, Barclays upped their target price on shares of 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. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average 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.