Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) Shares Sold by TIAA Trust National Association

TIAA Trust National Association lessened its stake in Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) by 2.3% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 8,782 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 209 shares during the quarter. TIAA Trust National Association’s holdings in Discover Financial Services were worth $1,149,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Rhumbline Advisers raised its stake in shares of Discover Financial Services by 5.9% in the 2nd quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 546,948 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $71,546,000 after purchasing an additional 30,361 shares in the last quarter. Versor Investments LP grew its position in shares of Discover Financial Services by 207.9% during the 2nd quarter. Versor Investments LP now owns 62,536 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $8,180,000 after buying an additional 42,228 shares during the last quarter. Valmark Advisers Inc. grew its position in shares of Discover Financial Services by 5.9% during the 2nd quarter. Valmark Advisers Inc. now owns 1,690 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $221,000 after buying an additional 94 shares during the last quarter. Summit Financial LLC grew its position in shares of Discover Financial Services by 27.2% during the 2nd quarter. Summit Financial LLC now owns 2,884 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $377,000 after buying an additional 616 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Essex Financial Services Inc. grew its position in shares of Discover Financial Services by 2.8% during the 2nd quarter. Essex Financial Services Inc. now owns 3,450 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $451,000 after buying an additional 93 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.94% of the company’s stock.

Discover Financial Services Stock Down 2.0 %

Shares of NYSE:DFS opened at $132.34 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $33.19 billion, a PE ratio of 15.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 1.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a current ratio of 1.12. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $134.09 and a 200 day simple moving average of $127.54. Discover Financial Services has a 52 week low of $79.04 and a 52 week high of $147.61.

Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 17th. The financial services provider reported $6.06 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.06 by $3.00. Discover Financial Services had a net margin of 12.88% and a return on equity of 20.92%. The company had revenue of $4.54 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.18 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $3.54 EPS. Discover Financial Services’s quarterly revenue was up 17.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that Discover Financial Services will post 12.75 earnings per share for the current year.

Discover Financial Services Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 5th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 22nd were issued a $0.70 dividend. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.12%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, August 22nd. Discover Financial Services’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 31.93%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on DFS. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on shares of Discover Financial Services from $140.00 to $148.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday, July 19th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on shares of Discover Financial Services from $145.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 9th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on shares of Discover Financial Services from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, July 8th. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Discover Financial Services from $135.00 to $137.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, July 19th. Finally, BTIG Research initiated coverage on shares of Discover Financial Services in a research report on Friday, June 7th. They issued a “neutral” rating for the company. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Discover Financial Services presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $132.94.

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; private student loans, 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.