iA Global Asset Management Inc. Purchases 9,982 Shares of Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS)

iA Global Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) by 403.6% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 12,455 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 9,982 shares during the period. iA Global Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Discover Financial Services were worth $1,747,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Elser Financial Planning Inc bought a new position in shares of Discover Financial Services during the second quarter valued at approximately $91,044,000. FMR LLC grew its position in Discover Financial Services by 8.0% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 7,493,862 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,051,314,000 after acquiring an additional 558,227 shares during the last quarter. Samlyn Capital LLC increased its stake in Discover Financial Services by 368.0% in the second quarter. Samlyn Capital LLC now owns 646,691 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $84,594,000 after purchasing an additional 508,504 shares during the period. Mizuho Securities USA LLC lifted its position in shares of Discover Financial Services by 1,272.0% during the third quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 265,155 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $37,199,000 after purchasing an additional 245,829 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Point72 Asset Management L.P. boosted its stake in shares of Discover Financial Services by 67.1% during the second quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 478,599 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $62,606,000 after purchasing an additional 192,142 shares during the period. 86.94% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on DFS shares. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on shares of Discover Financial Services from $148.00 to $161.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, October 18th. StockNews.com downgraded 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 price objective on 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, Evercore ISI lifted their target price on 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. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Discover Financial Services has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $140.33.

Discover Financial Services Stock Up 1.1 %

Shares of Discover Financial Services stock opened at $179.22 on Monday. Discover Financial Services has a 52-week low of $96.46 and a 52-week high of $188.26. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $160.69 and its 200-day moving average price is $141.75. The company has a quick ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28. The company has a market cap of $45.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.46, a PEG ratio of 1.13 and a beta of 1.45.

Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 16th. The financial services provider reported $3.69 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 firm posted $2.59 earnings per share. On average, sell-side 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 declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 5th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 21st were issued a $0.70 dividend. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.56%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, November 21st. Discover Financial Services’s dividend payout ratio is presently 22.60%.

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; 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.