Verity & Verity LLC Raises Stake in Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS)

Verity & Verity LLC raised its position in Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) by 7.7% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 4,380 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 312 shares during the period. Verity & Verity LLC’s holdings in Discover Financial Services were worth $614,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Discover Financial Services during the 2nd quarter worth about $26,000. DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. lifted its stake in Discover Financial Services by 506.5% during the third quarter. DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. now owns 188 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 157 shares during the last quarter. Y.D. More Investments Ltd increased its stake in Discover Financial Services by 147.8% in the second quarter. Y.D. More Investments Ltd now owns 223 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 133 shares during the last quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. lifted its position in shares of Discover Financial Services by 72.5% during the 2nd quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 226 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 95 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Larson Financial Group LLC grew its position in shares of Discover Financial Services by 348.2% in the 2nd quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 251 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 195 shares during the last quarter. 86.94% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Discover Financial Services Trading Down 1.6 %

Shares of DFS opened at $173.22 on Tuesday. Discover Financial Services has a 1-year low of $85.19 and a 1-year high of $188.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28, a current ratio of 1.08 and a quick ratio of 1.04. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $148.69 and a 200-day simple moving average of $136.41. The stock has a market cap of $43.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 1.41.

Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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. The business had revenue of $5.91 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.36 billion. Discover Financial Services had a return on equity of 21.38% and a net margin of 13.78%. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.59 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that Discover Financial Services will post 13.23 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Discover Financial Services Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 5th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 21st will be issued a dividend of $0.70 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 21st. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.62%. Discover Financial Services’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 22.60%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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