Mediolanum International Funds Ltd Lowers Stock Holdings in Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS)

Mediolanum International Funds Ltd reduced its position in Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) by 5.0% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 5,669 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 297 shares during the period. Mediolanum International Funds Ltd’s holdings in Discover Financial Services were worth $975,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. National Pension Service grew its stake in Discover Financial Services by 14.8% in the 3rd quarter. National Pension Service now owns 439,756 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $61,693,000 after acquiring an additional 56,814 shares during the period. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its stake in Discover Financial Services by 10.5% in the 3rd quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 115,487 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $16,202,000 after acquiring an additional 10,946 shares during the period. Brookstone Capital Management purchased a new stake in Discover Financial Services in the 4th quarter worth approximately $282,000. Meyer Handelman Co. purchased a new stake in shares of Discover Financial Services during the 4th quarter valued at $239,000. Finally, Janney Montgomery Scott LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Discover Financial Services during the 3rd quarter valued at $2,415,000. 86.94% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. StockNews.com cut shares of Discover Financial Services from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on shares of Discover Financial Services from $170.00 to $232.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Discover Financial Services from $186.00 to $209.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. UBS Group raised shares of Discover Financial Services from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $150.00 to $239.00 in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Finally, Evercore ISI boosted their price objective 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. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $182.64.

Discover Financial Services Stock Performance

Shares of DFS stock opened at $201.09 on Monday. Discover Financial Services has a 12 month low of $104.08 and a 12 month high of $205.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09, a current ratio of 1.09 and a quick ratio of 1.03. The firm has a market capitalization of $50.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.60, a P/E/G ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 1.46. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $181.46 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $157.02.

Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 22nd. The financial services provider reported $5.11 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.13 by $1.98. Discover Financial Services had a net margin of 17.29% and a return on equity of 26.18%. On average, research analysts anticipate that Discover Financial Services will post 13.39 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Discover Financial Services Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 6th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 23rd will be given a $0.70 dividend. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.39%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 23rd. Discover Financial Services’s payout ratio is currently 17.54%.

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.