Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) Position Decreased by Sheaff Brock Investment Advisors LLC

Sheaff Brock Investment Advisors LLC lowered its holdings in Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) by 77.2% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,497 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 5,073 shares during the period. Sheaff Brock Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in Discover Financial Services were worth $210,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Cooke & Bieler LP boosted 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 valued at $167,692,000 after purchasing an additional 62,595 shares during the period. Hsbc Holdings PLC lifted 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 valued at $154,064,000 after buying an additional 73,902 shares in the last quarter. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd boosted its holdings in shares of 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 buying an additional 6,042 shares during the period. Elser Financial Planning Inc acquired a new position in shares of Discover Financial Services in the second quarter worth about $91,044,000. Finally, Samlyn Capital LLC increased its position in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 508,504 shares in the last quarter. 86.94% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Discover Financial Services Stock Up 1.3 %

DFS stock opened at $176.07 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $44.21 billion, a PE ratio of 14.21, a PEG ratio of 1.13 and a beta of 1.41. Discover Financial Services has a 1 year low of $84.03 and a 1 year high of $188.26. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $147.90 and a 200 day simple moving average of $135.98. 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 for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.28 by $0.41. The company had revenue of $5.91 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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 quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.59 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Discover Financial Services will post 13.22 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Discover Financial Services Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 5th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 21st will be issued a dividend of $0.70 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 21st. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.59%. Discover Financial Services’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 22.60%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently commented on DFS. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on shares of 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. Evercore ISI increased 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. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Discover Financial Services from $152.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, October 18th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered Discover Financial Services from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $138.81.

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.