Amalgamated Bank Boosts Stock Holdings in Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS)

Amalgamated Bank boosted its position in Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) by 3.2% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 62,428 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,909 shares during the period. Amalgamated Bank’s holdings in Discover Financial Services were worth $8,166,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in DFS. TrinityPoint Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Discover Financial Services in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $300,000. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd purchased a new position in Discover Financial Services in the fourth quarter worth $215,000. Gladstone Institutional Advisory LLC purchased a new position in Discover Financial Services in the fourth quarter worth $336,000. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Discover Financial Services by 9.3% in the fourth quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. now owns 5,521 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $621,000 after acquiring an additional 468 shares during the period. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company MN boosted its position in shares of Discover Financial Services by 8.4% during the 4th quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 406,092 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $45,645,000 after purchasing an additional 31,354 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.94% of the company’s stock.

Discover Financial Services Stock Performance

NYSE:DFS opened at $143.92 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28, a current ratio of 1.12 and a quick ratio of 1.04. The firm has a market cap of $36.09 billion, a PE ratio of 16.41, a P/E/G ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 1.42. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $134.56 and a 200-day simple moving average of $128.42. Discover Financial Services has a 1-year low of $79.04 and a 1-year high of $147.61.

Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 17th. The financial services provider reported $6.06 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 company had revenue of $4.54 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.18 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $3.54 EPS. Discover Financial Services’s revenue was up 17.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts expect that Discover Financial Services will post 12.87 EPS for the current year.

Discover Financial Services Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 5th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 22nd were given a dividend of $0.70 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, August 22nd. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.95%. Discover Financial Services’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 31.93%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on DFS shares. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Discover Financial Services from $135.00 to $137.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, July 19th. 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 report on Friday, July 19th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on Discover Financial Services from $140.00 to $148.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Friday, July 19th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on Discover Financial Services from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, July 8th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on Discover Financial Services from $145.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $132.94.

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.