Brighton Jones LLC Cuts Stock Position in Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS)

Brighton Jones LLC lessened its position in shares of Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) by 2.4% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 4,253 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 104 shares during the period. Brighton Jones LLC’s holdings in Discover Financial Services were worth $597,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of DFS. DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. boosted its position in shares of Discover Financial Services by 506.5% in the 3rd quarter. DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. now owns 188 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 157 shares in the last quarter. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Discover Financial Services in the second quarter valued at about $26,000. Y.D. More Investments Ltd grew its stake 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 worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 133 shares during the last quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. grew its stake 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 during the last quarter. Finally, Larson Financial Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Discover Financial Services by 348.2% during the second quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 251 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 195 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.94% of the company’s stock.

Discover Financial Services Stock Performance

Shares of DFS stock opened at $148.93 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. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $138.51 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $131.54. The firm has a market capitalization of $37.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.98, a P/E/G ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 1.41. Discover Financial Services has a 12 month low of $79.04 and a 12 month high of $157.06.

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 firm had revenue of $5.91 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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 in the prior year, the company posted $2.59 earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that Discover Financial Services will post 13.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Discover Financial Services Announces Dividend

The firm 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.88%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 21st. Discover Financial Services’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 31.93%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

DFS has been the subject of a number of research reports. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on Discover Financial Services from $140.00 to $156.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research report on Monday, October 7th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on Discover Financial Services from $115.00 to $119.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, July 19th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target 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. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on shares of Discover Financial Services from $145.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 9th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on shares of Discover Financial Services from $148.00 to $161.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price 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.