3,563 Shares in Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) Acquired by Bridgewater Associates LP

Bridgewater Associates LP bought a new position in shares of Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS - Free Report) in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 3,563 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $500,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of DFS. FMR LLC raised its holdings in shares of Discover Financial Services by 8.0% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 7,493,862 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,051,314,000 after acquiring an additional 558,227 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Discover Financial Services by 0.5% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,728,276 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $242,460,000 after acquiring an additional 7,751 shares during the last quarter. Cooke & Bieler LP raised its holdings in Discover Financial Services by 5.1% in the second quarter. Cooke & Bieler LP now owns 1,281,950 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $167,692,000 after buying an additional 62,595 shares during the last quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC raised its holdings in Discover Financial Services by 6.7% in the 2nd quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 1,181,333 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $154,064,000 after acquiring an additional 73,902 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AustralianSuper Pty Ltd boosted its position in shares of Discover Financial Services by 0.5% during the second quarter. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd now owns 1,162,495 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $152,066,000 after buying an additional 6,042 shares during the last quarter. 86.94% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Discover Financial Services Price Performance

Shares of DFS stock traded down $1.68 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $178.43. 1,205,115 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,671,312. The company has a quick ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $156.66 and a two-hundred day moving average of $139.87. The firm has a market cap of $44.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.52, a P/E/G ratio of 1.16 and a beta of 1.45. Discover Financial Services has a fifty-two week low of $93.83 and a fifty-two week high of $188.26.

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 the consensus estimate 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 firm had revenue of $5.91 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.36 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.59 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Discover Financial Services will post 13.34 EPS for the current year.

Discover Financial Services Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 5th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 21st will be given a dividend of $0.70 per share. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.57%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 21st. Discover Financial Services's payout ratio is currently 22.60%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on DFS shares. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on Discover Financial Services from $148.00 to $161.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a report on Friday, October 18th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Discover Financial Services from $152.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on Discover Financial Services from $156.00 to $163.00 and gave the company an "in-line" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of Discover Financial Services from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Discover Financial Services currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus 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.