Handelsbanken Fonder AB Sells 32,955 Shares of Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS)

Handelsbanken Fonder AB trimmed its stake in Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) by 33.9% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 64,211 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 32,955 shares during the quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB’s holdings in Discover Financial Services were worth $7,217,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Simon Quick Advisors LLC grew its position in Discover Financial Services by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. Simon Quick Advisors LLC now owns 6,397 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $719,000 after acquiring an additional 109 shares during the period. Czech National Bank grew its position in Discover Financial Services by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 43,796 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $4,923,000 after acquiring an additional 110 shares during the period. Glenview Trust co grew its position in Discover Financial Services by 0.5% in the third quarter. Glenview Trust co now owns 24,363 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,111,000 after acquiring an additional 130 shares during the period. Patron Partners LLC grew its position in Discover Financial Services by 3.5% in the third quarter. Patron Partners LLC now owns 4,117 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $357,000 after acquiring an additional 139 shares during the period. Finally, Mackenzie Financial Corp grew its position in Discover Financial Services by 0.5% in the third quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 28,137 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,455,000 after acquiring an additional 146 shares during the period. 86.94% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Discover Financial Services

In other Discover Financial Services news, CFO John Greene sold 35,191 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $106.51, for a total value of $3,748,193.41. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 18,592 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,980,233.92. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Insiders own 0.69% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have weighed in on DFS. HSBC upped their price target on Discover Financial Services from $107.00 to $144.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 21st. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price objective on Discover Financial Services from $116.00 to $104.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Discover Financial Services from $110.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. Wolfe Research reissued a “peer perform” rating on shares of Discover Financial Services in a research note on Wednesday, February 21st. Finally, Citigroup boosted their price objective on Discover Financial Services from $127.00 to $168.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 23rd. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $126.29.

Discover Financial Services Trading Down 0.2 %

Shares of DFS opened at $129.02 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.13, a current ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.49. Discover Financial Services has a 12-month low of $79.04 and a 12-month high of $131.65. The firm has a market capitalization of $32.33 billion, a PE ratio of 14.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.78 and a beta of 1.45. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $123.16 and its 200-day simple moving average is $106.88.

Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 18th. The financial services provider reported $1.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.98 by ($1.88). Discover Financial Services had a net margin of 10.56% and a return on equity of 16.74%. The firm had revenue of $4.21 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.07 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $3.58 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Discover Financial Services will post 11.39 earnings per share for the current year.

Discover Financial Services Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 6th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 23rd will be paid a $0.70 dividend. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.17%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 22nd. Discover Financial Services’s payout ratio is 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; private student loans, 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.