Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) Shares Bought by Acadian Asset Management LLC

Acadian Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) by 3,445.0% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 5,991 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 5,822 shares during the quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Discover Financial Services were worth $783,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in DFS. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in Discover Financial Services by 135.1% during the first quarter. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC now owns 7,793 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,022,000 after buying an additional 4,478 shares in the last quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. boosted its stake in shares of Discover Financial Services by 238.7% during the 4th quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 14,783 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,662,000 after acquiring an additional 10,418 shares in the last quarter. Scotia Capital Inc. grew its position in shares of Discover Financial Services by 57.6% during the 4th quarter. Scotia Capital Inc. now owns 25,404 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,855,000 after acquiring an additional 9,287 shares during the period. Gabelli Funds LLC purchased a new position in shares of Discover Financial Services in the 1st quarter valued at about $983,000. Finally, Brave Warrior Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Discover Financial Services by 10.6% in the 4th quarter. Brave Warrior Advisors LLC now owns 2,633,167 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $295,968,000 after purchasing an additional 251,909 shares during the period. 86.94% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have commented on the company. StockNews.com initiated coverage on Discover Financial Services in a report on Tuesday. They issued a “hold” rating on the stock. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on shares of Discover Financial Services from $115.00 to $119.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, July 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Discover Financial Services from $132.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, July 19th. Royal Bank of Canada increased 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 report on Friday, July 19th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on shares of Discover Financial Services from $145.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 9th. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Discover Financial Services currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $132.94.

Discover Financial Services Stock Performance

NYSE DFS opened at $137.63 on Wednesday. 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 stock’s fifty day moving average is $134.17 and its two-hundred day moving average is $128.26. The firm has a market capitalization of $34.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 1.42. Discover Financial Services has a fifty-two week low of $79.04 and a fifty-two week high of $147.61.

Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) last posted 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 return on equity of 20.92% and a net margin of 12.88%. The business had revenue of $4.54 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.18 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $3.54 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 17.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts anticipate that Discover Financial Services will post 12.87 earnings per share for the current year.

Discover Financial Services Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 5th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 22nd were issued a $0.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, August 22nd. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.03%. Discover Financial Services’s payout ratio is 31.93%.

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; 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.