Atria Investments Inc Acquires 4,684 Shares of Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS)

Atria Investments Inc boosted its stake in Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS - Free Report) by 57.8% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 12,783 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 4,684 shares during the period. Atria Investments Inc's holdings in Discover Financial Services were worth $1,793,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. National Pension Service raised its position in shares of Discover Financial Services by 14.8% in the 3rd quarter. National Pension Service now owns 439,756 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $61,693,000 after acquiring an additional 56,814 shares in the last quarter. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in Discover Financial Services by 135.1% in the first quarter. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC now owns 7,793 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,022,000 after buying an additional 4,478 shares during the period. Gabelli Funds LLC bought a new position in shares of Discover Financial Services during the 1st quarter worth approximately $983,000. William B. Walkup & Associates Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Discover Financial Services during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $4,835,000. Finally, Janney Montgomery Scott LLC bought a new stake in shares of Discover Financial Services in the 3rd quarter valued at $2,415,000. 86.94% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Discover Financial Services Price Performance

Shares of DFS stock traded up $2.24 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $176.07. 3,174,543 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,687,689. The company has a market capitalization of $44.21 billion, a PE ratio of 14.21, a PEG ratio of 1.13 and a beta of 1.41. The company has a current ratio of 1.08, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28. Discover Financial Services has a 12-month low of $84.03 and a 12-month high of $188.26. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $147.90 and its 200-day simple moving average is $135.91.

Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS - Get Free Report) last posted 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. Discover Financial Services had a net margin of 13.78% and a return on equity of 21.38%. The business had revenue of $5.91 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.36 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.59 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Discover Financial Services will post 13.22 earnings per share for the current year.

Discover Financial Services Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 5th. Investors 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 yield of 1.59%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 21st. Discover Financial Services's dividend payout ratio is presently 22.60%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

DFS has been the subject of a number of research reports. Evercore ISI raised their price target on shares of Discover Financial Services from $156.00 to $163.00 and gave the stock an "in-line" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Discover Financial Services from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Barclays lifted their price target on Discover Financial Services from $135.00 to $137.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, July 19th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on shares of Discover Financial Services from $148.00 to $161.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target 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. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Discover Financial Services has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $138.81.

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.