Eastern Bank Makes New $138,000 Investment in Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS)

Eastern Bank acquired a new stake in Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 982 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $138,000.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Elser Financial Planning Inc bought a new stake in Discover Financial Services in the second quarter valued at $91,044,000. Magnetar Financial LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Discover Financial Services during the 1st quarter worth about $71,693,000. Samlyn Capital LLC increased its position in shares of Discover Financial Services by 368.0% during the 2nd quarter. Samlyn Capital LLC now owns 646,691 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $84,594,000 after purchasing an additional 508,504 shares in the last quarter. M&G Plc bought a new position in Discover Financial Services during the 1st quarter valued at about $62,829,000. Finally, National Bank of Canada FI boosted its position in Discover Financial Services by 430.5% in the first quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 443,707 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $54,752,000 after buying an additional 360,074 shares in the last quarter. 86.94% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on shares of Discover Financial Services from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, July 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Discover Financial Services from $132.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, July 19th. StockNews.com initiated coverage on Discover Financial Services in a report on Saturday, October 19th. They set a “hold” rating on the stock. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on Discover Financial Services from $140.00 to $156.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a report on Monday, October 7th. 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 report on Friday, October 18th. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Discover Financial Services presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $136.12.

Discover Financial Services Trading Down 1.4 %

NYSE DFS opened at $143.11 on Friday. Discover Financial Services has a 12 month low of $79.04 and a 12 month high of $152.90. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $138.26 and a 200 day simple moving average of $131.46. 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 $35.89 billion, a PE ratio of 16.32, a P/E/G ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 1.41.

Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 16th. The financial services provider reported $3.69 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.28 by $0.41. The company had revenue of $5.91 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.36 billion. Discover Financial Services had a return on equity of 20.92% and a net margin of 12.88%. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.59 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Discover Financial Services will post 13.15 EPS for the current year.

Discover Financial Services Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 5th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 21st will be paid a $0.70 dividend. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.96%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 21st. Discover Financial Services’s payout ratio is presently 31.93%.

About Discover Financial Services

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.