Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA Has $149.27 Million Position in Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS)

Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its holdings in shares of Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) by 0.4% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 1,063,980 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 4,594 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA’s holdings in Discover Financial Services were worth $149,266,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Eagle Bluffs Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in Discover Financial Services by 0.5% in 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 acquiring an additional 67 shares in the last quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC raised its stake 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 worth $44,000 after purchasing an additional 68 shares during the last quarter. Inlet Private Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Discover Financial Services by 2.4% in the third quarter. Inlet Private Wealth LLC now owns 3,185 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $447,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. boosted its position in shares of Discover Financial Services by 0.4% during the third quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. now owns 17,664 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,478,000 after buying an additional 75 shares during the last quarter. Finally, J.Safra Asset Management Corp grew its holdings in Discover Financial Services by 24.4% during the second quarter. J.Safra Asset Management Corp now owns 387 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $51,000 after buying an additional 76 shares in the last quarter. 86.94% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Discover Financial Services Trading Up 2.5 %

Shares of DFS opened at $179.29 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $45.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 1.41. Discover Financial Services has a fifty-two week low of $85.19 and a fifty-two week high of $188.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a current ratio of 1.08. The business has a 50-day moving average of $152.29 and a 200 day moving average of $137.73.

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

Discover Financial Services Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 5th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 21st will be given a dividend of $0.70 per share. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.56%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 21st. Discover Financial Services’s dividend payout ratio is presently 22.60%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have weighed in on DFS. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on Discover Financial Services from $148.00 to $161.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Evercore ISI raised 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. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Discover Financial Services from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Discover Financial Services from $152.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus 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.