Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) Shares Acquired by Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC

Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC increased its position in Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) by 4.4% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 6,191 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 263 shares during the period. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC’s holdings in Discover Financial Services were worth $869,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Inlet Private Wealth LLC raised its position in shares of Discover Financial Services by 2.4% in the third quarter. Inlet Private Wealth LLC now owns 3,185 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $447,000 after buying an additional 75 shares during the last quarter. J.Safra Asset Management Corp grew its holdings in Discover Financial Services by 24.4% in the second quarter. J.Safra Asset Management Corp now owns 387 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $51,000 after purchasing an additional 76 shares during the period. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. grew its holdings in Discover Financial Services by 37.1% in the third quarter. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. now owns 292 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $41,000 after purchasing an additional 79 shares during the period. UMB Bank n.a. grew its holdings in 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 purchasing an additional 84 shares during the period. Finally, Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC grew its holdings in Discover Financial Services by 4.2% in the third quarter. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC now owns 2,159 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $303,000 after purchasing an additional 87 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.94% of the company’s stock.

Discover Financial Services Price Performance

DFS opened at $148.93 on Friday. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $138.51 and a 200 day simple moving average of $131.54. The firm has a market cap of $37.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.98, a PEG ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 1.41. Discover Financial Services has a twelve month low of $79.04 and a twelve month high of $157.06. The company has a current ratio of 1.12, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28.

Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) last released 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. Discover Financial Services had a net margin of 12.88% and a return on equity of 20.92%. The business had revenue of $5.91 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.36 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.59 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Discover Financial Services will post 13.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Discover Financial Services Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed 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 yield of 1.88%. Discover Financial Services’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 31.93%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on shares of Discover Financial Services from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, July 8th. Evercore ISI boosted 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 report on Monday, October 7th. StockNews.com started coverage on shares of Discover Financial Services in a report on Saturday, October 19th. They issued a “hold” rating for the company. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Discover Financial Services from $135.00 to $137.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, July 19th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased 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 research report on Friday, October 18th. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $136.12.

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.