Aequim Alternative Investments LP Sells 30,619 Shares of Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS)

Aequim Alternative Investments LP reduced its position in shares of Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS - Free Report) by 45.4% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 36,881 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 30,619 shares during the period. Aequim Alternative Investments LP's holdings in Discover Financial Services were worth $5,174,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. grew its stake in 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 buying an additional 157 shares in the last quarter. Y.D. More Investments Ltd lifted its holdings in shares of Discover Financial Services by 147.8% during the 2nd 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 position in Discover Financial Services by 72.5% in 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 in the last quarter. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. bought a new position in Discover Financial Services in the third quarter valued at $30,000. Finally, Larson Financial Group LLC raised its position in 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 purchasing an additional 195 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.94% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

DFS has been the subject of a number of research reports. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on Discover Financial Services from $148.00 to $161.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a report on Friday, October 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Discover Financial Services from $135.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday. StockNews.com cut shares of Discover Financial Services from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Discover Financial Services from $152.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, October 18th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on shares of Discover Financial Services from $170.00 to $232.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $146.13.

Discover Financial Services Stock Down 0.6 %

Discover Financial Services stock traded down $1.01 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $175.75. 848,664 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,659,059. Discover Financial Services has a one year low of $96.46 and a one year high of $188.26. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $161.42 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $142.13. The company has a current ratio of 1.08, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28. The company has a market cap of $44.13 billion, a PE ratio of 14.21, a PEG ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 1.45.

Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 16th. The financial services provider reported $3.69 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.28 by $0.41. The company had revenue of $5.91 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.36 billion. Discover Financial Services had a return on equity of 21.38% and a net margin of 13.78%. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.59 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that Discover Financial Services will post 13.34 EPS for the current year.

Discover Financial Services Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 5th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 21st were given a dividend of $0.70 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, November 21st. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.59%. Discover Financial Services's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 22.60%.

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.