Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) Holdings Raised by Moors & Cabot Inc.

Moors & Cabot Inc. increased its position in shares of Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) by 6.2% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 4,767 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 278 shares during the quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc.’s holdings in Discover Financial Services were worth $669,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Cooke & Bieler LP lifted its position in shares of Discover Financial Services by 5.1% in the 2nd quarter. Cooke & Bieler LP now owns 1,281,950 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $167,692,000 after buying an additional 62,595 shares during the last quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC raised its stake in Discover Financial Services by 6.7% during the second quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 1,181,333 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $154,064,000 after acquiring an additional 73,902 shares during the period. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd lifted its holdings in Discover Financial Services by 0.5% in the second quarter. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd now owns 1,162,495 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $152,066,000 after acquiring an additional 6,042 shares during the last quarter. Alpine Associates Management Inc. boosted its stake in Discover Financial Services by 2.2% in the third quarter. Alpine Associates Management Inc. now owns 878,164 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $123,198,000 after acquiring an additional 18,670 shares during the period. Finally, Elser Financial Planning Inc bought a new position in shares of Discover Financial Services during the second quarter valued at approximately $91,044,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.94% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

DFS has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Discover Financial Services from $152.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Discover Financial Services from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on shares of Discover Financial Services from $148.00 to $161.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, October 18th. Finally, Evercore ISI boosted their target price on shares of Discover Financial Services from $156.00 to $163.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $138.81.

Discover Financial Services Stock Up 2.4 %

DFS opened at $179.07 on Friday. 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 company has a market capitalization of $44.96 billion, a PE ratio of 14.45, a P/E/G ratio of 1.10 and a beta of 1.41. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $152.29 and its 200-day moving average is $137.63. Discover Financial Services has a one year low of $85.19 and a one year high of $188.26.

Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 16th. The financial services provider reported $3.69 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 firm had revenue of $5.91 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.36 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.59 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that Discover Financial Services will post 13.34 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Discover Financial Services Announces Dividend

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

Discover Financial Services 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.