Gulf International Bank UK Ltd Decreases Position in Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS)

Gulf International Bank UK Ltd trimmed its holdings in shares of Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) by 4.1% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 20,063 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 868 shares during the period. Gulf International Bank UK Ltd’s holdings in Discover Financial Services were worth $2,814,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Inlet Private Wealth LLC boosted its holdings in Discover Financial Services by 2.4% during the 3rd quarter. Inlet Private Wealth LLC now owns 3,185 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $447,000 after acquiring an additional 75 shares during the period. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. grew its holdings in shares of Discover Financial Services by 0.4% in the third quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. now owns 17,664 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,478,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares during the last quarter. J.Safra Asset Management Corp increased its stake in shares of Discover Financial Services by 24.4% in 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 during the period. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. raised its holdings in Discover Financial Services by 37.1% during the 3rd quarter. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. now owns 292 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $41,000 after buying an additional 79 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. raised its holdings in Discover Financial Services by 0.9% during the 2nd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 9,139 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,195,000 after buying an additional 84 shares during the last quarter. 86.94% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Discover Financial Services Trading Up 20.2 %

Discover Financial Services stock opened at $182.55 on Thursday. Discover Financial Services has a 12 month low of $82.15 and a 12 month high of $188.26. The company has a market capitalization of $45.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 1.41. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $142.21 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $133.60. The company has a current ratio of 1.08, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28.

Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) last announced 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 company had revenue of $5.91 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.36 billion. Discover Financial Services had a net margin of 13.78% and a return on equity of 21.38%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.59 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Discover Financial Services will post 13.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Discover Financial Services Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 5th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 21st will be issued a $0.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 21st. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.53%. Discover Financial Services’s payout ratio is currently 22.60%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have issued reports on DFS. Wells Fargo & Company boosted 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 report on Friday, October 18th. Evercore ISI upped their price target 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. StockNews.com cut Discover Financial Services from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Discover Financial Services from $132.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, July 19th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on Discover Financial Services from $148.00 to $161.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $138.81.

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.