Forsta AP Fonden Raises Holdings in Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS)

Forsta AP Fonden lifted its holdings in Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) by 10.1% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 65,400 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 6,000 shares during the quarter. Forsta AP Fonden’s holdings in Discover Financial Services were worth $9,175,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in Discover Financial Services by 135.1% during the 1st quarter. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC now owns 7,793 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,022,000 after acquiring an additional 4,478 shares during the period. Gabelli Funds LLC purchased a new stake in Discover Financial Services in the first quarter worth approximately $983,000. William B. Walkup & Associates Inc. purchased a new stake in Discover Financial Services in the second quarter worth approximately $4,835,000. Janus Henderson Group PLC grew its position in Discover Financial Services by 61.0% in the 1st quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 62,529 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $8,197,000 after purchasing an additional 23,702 shares during the period. Finally, Forge First Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Discover Financial Services during the 1st quarter valued at $13,341,000. 86.94% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

DFS has been the topic of a number of research reports. Barclays raised their price target on Discover Financial Services from $135.00 to $137.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, July 19th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on Discover Financial Services from $148.00 to $161.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th. StockNews.com initiated coverage on shares of Discover Financial Services in a research note on Sunday. They issued a “buy” rating on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group upped 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. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on shares of Discover Financial Services from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, July 8th. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $136.12.

Discover Financial Services Stock Up 4.0 %

Shares of DFS opened at $148.90 on Monday. Discover Financial Services has a 12-month low of $79.04 and a 12-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. The company has a market capitalization of $37.34 billion, a PE ratio of 16.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 1.41. The business’s 50 day moving average is $138.81 and its 200 day moving average is $131.81.

Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 quarter last year, the business posted $2.59 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Discover Financial Services will post 13.15 earnings per share 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 issued a dividend of $0.70 per share. 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%.

Discover Financial Services Company 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.