Ethic Inc. Raises Stake in Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS)

Ethic Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) by 41.7% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 22,826 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 6,723 shares during the period. Ethic Inc.’s holdings in Discover Financial Services were worth $3,954,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of DFS. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Discover Financial Services by 3.3% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 294,975 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $41,382,000 after purchasing an additional 9,463 shares during the last quarter. Czech National Bank grew its holdings in Discover Financial Services by 6.4% in the fourth quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 54,438 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $9,430,000 after purchasing an additional 3,292 shares during the period. Aprio Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Discover Financial Services in the 4th quarter worth approximately $225,000. City Center Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Discover Financial Services in the fourth quarter worth $258,000. Finally, Fiduciary Alliance LLC bought a new stake in Discover Financial Services during the 4th quarter valued at about $506,000. 86.94% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

DFS has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on Discover Financial Services from $169.00 to $129.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Discover Financial Services from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. Argus raised Discover Financial Services to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, April 25th. TD Securities dropped their target price on shares of Discover Financial Services from $188.00 to $184.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “hold” rating and set a $180.00 price objective on shares of Discover Financial Services in a report on Wednesday. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $191.64.

Discover Financial Services Trading Down 1.0 %

Shares of DFS stock opened at $190.10 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $168.89 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $176.68. Discover Financial Services has a 1 year low of $119.95 and a 1 year high of $205.76. The company has a market cap of $47.84 billion, a PE ratio of 11.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 1.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09, a current ratio of 1.09 and a quick ratio of 1.03.

Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The financial services provider reported $4.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.33 by $0.92. The business had revenue of $4.25 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.25 billion. Discover Financial Services had a return on equity of 26.18% and a net margin of 17.29%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.10 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that Discover Financial Services will post 13.88 earnings per share for the current year.

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.