Waters Parkerson & CO. LLC Has $44.73 Million Holdings in Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS)

Waters Parkerson & CO. LLC decreased its position in Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) by 1.4% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 341,916 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 4,867 shares during the quarter. Discover Financial Services accounts for approximately 2.4% of Waters Parkerson & CO. LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 14th largest holding. Waters Parkerson & CO. LLC owned 0.14% of Discover Financial Services worth $44,726,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. J.Safra Asset Management Corp raised its holdings in Discover Financial Services by 24.4% in the 2nd quarter. J.Safra Asset Management Corp now owns 387 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $51,000 after acquiring an additional 76 shares during the period. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its stake in shares of Discover Financial Services by 0.9% in the second quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 9,139 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,195,000 after buying an additional 84 shares during the period. Ballentine Partners LLC grew its position in Discover Financial Services by 3.1% during the first quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 2,888 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $379,000 after buying an additional 86 shares in the last quarter. Optas LLC increased its stake in Discover Financial Services by 4.3% during the 2nd quarter. Optas LLC now owns 2,147 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $281,000 after acquiring an additional 89 shares during the period. Finally, Conning Inc. raised its holdings in Discover Financial Services by 4.1% in the 2nd quarter. Conning Inc. now owns 2,371 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $310,000 after acquiring an additional 93 shares in the last quarter. 86.94% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Discover Financial Services Stock Performance

NYSE DFS opened at $143.92 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $36.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.41, a PEG ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 1.42. The company has a quick ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 1.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28. Discover Financial Services has a twelve month low of $79.04 and a twelve month high of $147.61. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $134.56 and a 200 day simple moving average of $128.42.

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. The company had revenue of $4.54 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.18 billion. Discover Financial Services had a return on equity of 20.92% and a net margin of 12.88%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 17.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $3.54 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that Discover Financial Services will post 12.87 EPS for the current year.

Discover Financial Services Announces Dividend

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

DFS has been the topic of several analyst reports. StockNews.com began coverage on Discover Financial Services in a report on Tuesday. They set a “hold” rating on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on shares of Discover Financial Services from $145.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 9th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on shares of Discover Financial Services from $115.00 to $119.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, July 19th. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Discover Financial Services from $135.00 to $137.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, July 19th. Finally, BTIG Research initiated coverage on Discover Financial Services in a research note on Friday, June 7th. They set a “neutral” rating for the company. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target 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.