BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. Raises Position in Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS)

BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. lifted its position in shares of Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS - Free Report) by 109.5% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 207,968 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 108,694 shares during the quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. owned 0.08% of Discover Financial Services worth $29,176,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. raised its position 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 valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 157 shares during the last quarter. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Discover Financial Services in the 2nd quarter valued at $26,000. Y.D. More Investments Ltd raised its position in Discover Financial Services by 147.8% in the 2nd quarter. Y.D. More Investments Ltd now owns 223 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 133 shares during the last quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. raised its position in Discover Financial Services by 72.5% in the 2nd quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 226 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 95 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Larson Financial Group LLC raised its position in Discover Financial Services by 348.2% in the 2nd quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 251 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 195 shares during the last quarter. 86.94% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

DFS has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on Discover Financial Services from $156.00 to $163.00 and gave the company an "in-line" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on 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. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Discover Financial Services from $152.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Discover Financial Services from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $138.81.

Discover Financial Services Stock Performance

Discover Financial Services stock traded up $4.38 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $179.29. 1,063,023 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,289,120. The stock has a market capitalization of $45.01 billion, a PE ratio of 14.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 1.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28, a current ratio of 1.08 and a quick ratio of 1.04. Discover Financial Services has a 12-month low of $85.19 and a 12-month high of $188.26. The business's 50-day moving average is $152.29 and its 200-day moving average is $137.63.

Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 16th. The financial services provider reported $3.69 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.28 by $0.41. Discover Financial Services had a return on equity of 21.38% and a net margin of 13.78%. The company had revenue of $5.91 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.36 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.59 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Discover Financial Services will post 13.34 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Discover Financial Services Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 5th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 21st will be paid a $0.70 dividend. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.56%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 21st. Discover Financial Services's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 22.60%.

Discover Financial Services 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.