Sheaff Brock Investment Advisors LLC Sells 5,073 Shares of Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS)

Sheaff Brock Investment Advisors LLC trimmed its holdings in Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS - Free Report) by 77.2% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,497 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 5,073 shares during the period. Sheaff Brock Investment Advisors LLC's holdings in Discover Financial Services were worth $210,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

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

Discover Financial Services Trading Up 1.3 %

Shares of NYSE DFS traded up $2.24 during trading on Friday, reaching $176.07. The company had a trading volume of 3,174,543 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,199,510. Discover Financial Services has a 12 month low of $84.03 and a 12 month high of $188.26. 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 stock has a market cap of $44.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.21, a PEG ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 1.41. The company's fifty day moving average price is $147.90 and its 200-day moving average price is $136.07.

Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results 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 business had revenue of $5.91 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.36 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.59 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that Discover Financial Services will post 13.23 earnings per share for the current year.

Discover Financial Services Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 5th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 21st will be paid a dividend of $0.70 per share. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.59%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 21st. Discover Financial Services's dividend payout ratio is presently 22.60%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. StockNews.com lowered Discover Financial Services from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Discover Financial Services from $152.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Evercore ISI increased their target price 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. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on shares of Discover Financial Services from $148.00 to $161.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a report on Friday, October 18th. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to 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.