Citigroup Inc. Increases Stake in Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS)

Citigroup Inc. grew its position in Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS - Free Report) by 7.8% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 220,534 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 15,874 shares during the quarter. Citigroup Inc. owned 0.09% of Discover Financial Services worth $30,939,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of DFS. Eagle Bluffs Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in Discover Financial Services by 0.5% during the third quarter. Eagle Bluffs Wealth Management LLC now owns 14,501 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $2,034,000 after purchasing an additional 67 shares during the period. Venturi Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Discover Financial Services by 27.4% in the 3rd quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 316 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $44,000 after buying an additional 68 shares during the period. Inlet Private Wealth LLC raised its stake in Discover Financial Services by 2.4% during the 3rd quarter. Inlet Private Wealth LLC now owns 3,185 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $447,000 after buying an additional 75 shares during the period. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. lifted its holdings in Discover Financial Services by 0.4% during the third quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. now owns 17,664 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,478,000 after acquiring an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. Finally, J.Safra Asset Management Corp grew its stake in Discover Financial Services by 24.4% in the second quarter. J.Safra Asset Management Corp now owns 387 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $51,000 after acquiring an additional 76 shares during the period. 86.94% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

DFS has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. StockNews.com cut Discover Financial Services from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of 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. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on Discover Financial Services from $156.00 to $163.00 and gave the stock an "in-line" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on shares of Discover Financial Services from $148.00 to $161.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a report on Friday, October 18th. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Discover Financial Services currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $138.81.

Discover Financial Services Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:DFS traded down $1.08 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $181.59. The company had a trading volume of 286,071 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,680,005. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $45.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 1.41. The company has a fifty day moving average of $153.26 and a two-hundred day moving average of $138.24. Discover Financial Services has a 12 month low of $85.19 and a 12 month high of $188.26.

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

Discover Financial Services Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 5th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 21st will be given a dividend of $0.70 per share. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.54%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 21st. Discover Financial Services's payout ratio is currently 22.60%.

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.