Dakota Wealth Management Makes New Investment in Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS)

Dakota Wealth Management acquired a new stake in shares of Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 2,551 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $358,000.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Discover Financial Services during the 2nd quarter valued at $26,000. DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Discover Financial Services by 506.5% during the third quarter. DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. now owns 188 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 157 shares during the last quarter. Y.D. More Investments Ltd grew its holdings in shares of Discover Financial Services by 147.8% during the second quarter. Y.D. More Investments Ltd now owns 223 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 133 shares during the last quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. increased its position in shares of Discover Financial Services by 72.5% during the second quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 226 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 95 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Larson Financial Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Discover Financial Services by 348.2% in the 2nd quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 251 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 195 shares during the last quarter. 86.94% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Discover Financial Services Trading Up 2.7 %

Shares of DFS opened at $152.96 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $38.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 1.41. Discover Financial Services has a fifty-two week low of $80.38 and a fifty-two week high of $157.06. 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 business has a 50-day moving average of $139.14 and a 200 day moving average of $132.02.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.28 by $0.41. The company had revenue of $5.91 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.59 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast that Discover Financial Services will post 13.15 EPS for the current year.

Discover Financial Services Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 5th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 21st will be issued a $0.70 dividend. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.83%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 21st. Discover Financial Services’s payout ratio is currently 31.93%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on DFS shares. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target 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. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on Discover Financial Services from $148.00 to $161.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, October 18th. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on Discover Financial Services from $140.00 to $156.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research note on Monday, October 7th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Discover Financial Services from $152.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, October 18th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Discover Financial Services from $132.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, July 19th. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $136.12.

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; 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.