Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) Holdings Decreased by Thrivent Financial for Lutherans

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans lowered its stake in Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) by 1.0% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 604,964 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 6,114 shares during the quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans owned about 0.24% of Discover Financial Services worth $79,135,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Discover Financial Services by 135.1% in the 1st quarter. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC now owns 7,793 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,022,000 after acquiring an additional 4,478 shares during the period. D.A. Davidson & CO. raised its holdings in Discover Financial Services by 238.7% during the fourth quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 14,783 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,662,000 after purchasing an additional 10,418 shares in the last quarter. Scotia Capital Inc. lifted its position in Discover Financial Services by 57.6% in the fourth quarter. Scotia Capital Inc. now owns 25,404 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,855,000 after purchasing an additional 9,287 shares during the period. Gabelli Funds LLC bought a new position in Discover Financial Services during the 1st quarter valued at $983,000. Finally, Brave Warrior Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of 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 buying an additional 251,909 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.94% of the company’s stock.

Discover Financial Services Price Performance

Shares of DFS opened at $142.49 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $134.78 and its 200-day moving average is $128.63. 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 company has a market capitalization of $35.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.25, a P/E/G 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 released its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 12.88% and a return on equity of 20.92%. The firm 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 earned $3.54 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 17.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect that Discover Financial Services will post 12.87 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Discover Financial Services Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 5th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 22nd were issued 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 dividend yield of 1.97%. Discover Financial Services’s dividend payout ratio is 31.93%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the company. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on 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. StockNews.com started coverage on shares of Discover Financial Services in a research note on Tuesday, September 17th. They issued a “hold” rating on the stock. Barclays boosted 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 report on Friday, July 19th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on shares of Discover Financial Services from $145.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 9th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on Discover Financial Services from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, July 8th. Thirteen investment 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 company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $132.94.

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; 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.