NBC Securities Inc. Sells 160 Shares of Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS)

NBC Securities Inc. cut its holdings in shares of Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) by 8.4% during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,754 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 160 shares during the quarter. NBC Securities Inc.’s holdings in Discover Financial Services were worth $246,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Creative Planning raised its position in shares of Discover Financial Services by 0.8% in the third quarter. Creative Planning now owns 64,476 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $9,045,000 after purchasing an additional 517 shares during the period. Sunflower Bank N.A. acquired a new position in Discover Financial Services in the 3rd quarter valued at about $231,000. CHICAGO TRUST Co NA acquired a new position in Discover Financial Services in the 3rd quarter valued at about $437,000. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC bought a new position in Discover Financial Services in the 3rd quarter valued at about $863,000. Finally, Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt boosted its holdings in shares of Discover Financial Services by 458.5% during the third quarter. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt now owns 1,949 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $273,000 after acquiring an additional 1,600 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 86.94% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Evercore ISI increased their target price on Discover Financial Services from $140.00 to $156.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research note on Monday, October 7th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on Discover Financial Services from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, July 8th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on shares of Discover Financial Services from $148.00 to $161.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday. StockNews.com assumed coverage on shares of Discover Financial Services in a research report on Saturday. They set a “hold” rating on the stock. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on shares of Discover Financial Services from $115.00 to $119.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, July 19th. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $136.12.

Discover Financial Services Price Performance

Shares of DFS stock opened at $148.69 on Friday. Discover Financial Services has a twelve month low of $79.04 and a twelve month high of $152.90. The company has a quick ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 1.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $137.08 and a 200 day simple moving average of $131.02. The company has a market cap of $37.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.95, a P/E/G ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 1.41.

Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 16th. The financial services provider reported $3.69 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.28 by $0.41. The company had revenue of $5.91 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.36 billion. Discover Financial Services had a net margin of 12.88% and a return on equity of 20.92%. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.59 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Discover Financial Services will post 13.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Discover Financial Services Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 5th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 21st will be paid a dividend of $0.70 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 21st. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.88%. Discover Financial Services’s payout ratio is presently 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; 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.