Czech National Bank Acquires 3,392 Shares of Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS)

Czech National Bank grew its holdings in shares of Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) by 7.1% in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 51,146 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,392 shares during the quarter. Czech National Bank’s holdings in Discover Financial Services were worth $7,175,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in Discover Financial Services by 135.1% during the first quarter. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC now owns 7,793 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,022,000 after purchasing an additional 4,478 shares during the period. Gabelli Funds LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Discover Financial Services in the first quarter worth about $983,000. William B. Walkup & Associates Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Discover Financial Services in the second quarter worth about $4,835,000. Janus Henderson Group PLC lifted its holdings in shares of Discover Financial Services by 61.0% in the first quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 62,529 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $8,197,000 after buying an additional 23,702 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Forge First Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Discover Financial Services in the first quarter worth about $13,341,000. Institutional investors own 86.94% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on DFS. StockNews.com began coverage on shares of Discover Financial Services in a report on Friday. They issued a “hold” rating on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on shares of Discover Financial Services from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, July 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Discover Financial Services from $132.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, July 19th. Evercore ISI raised their target price on shares of Discover Financial Services from $140.00 to $156.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research note on Monday. Finally, Barclays raised their target price 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. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $133.88.

Discover Financial Services Stock Down 1.0 %

Shares of NYSE DFS opened at $141.74 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. Discover Financial Services has a one year low of $79.04 and a one year high of $147.61. The stock has a market capitalization of $35.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.16, a PEG ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 1.41. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $134.28 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $130.13.

Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) last announced 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 net margin of 12.88% and a return on equity of 20.92%. The business had revenue of $4.54 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.18 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $3.54 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 17.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts expect that Discover Financial Services will post 12.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Discover Financial Services Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 5th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 22nd were given a dividend of $0.70 per share. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.98%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, August 22nd. Discover Financial Services’s payout ratio is 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; 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.