Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) Shares Purchased by Versor Investments LP

Versor Investments LP lifted its stake in Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS - Free Report) by 21.5% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 75,963 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 13,427 shares during the period. Discover Financial Services comprises 1.7% of Versor Investments LP's portfolio, making the stock its biggest holding. Versor Investments LP's holdings in Discover Financial Services were worth $10,657,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in DFS. Cooke & Bieler LP raised its stake in shares of Discover Financial Services by 5.1% in the 2nd quarter. Cooke & Bieler LP now owns 1,281,950 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $167,692,000 after buying an additional 62,595 shares in the last quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC raised its position in Discover Financial Services by 6.7% in the second quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 1,181,333 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $154,064,000 after purchasing an additional 73,902 shares in the last quarter. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd raised its position in Discover Financial Services by 0.5% in the second quarter. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd now owns 1,162,495 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $152,066,000 after purchasing an additional 6,042 shares in the last quarter. Elser Financial Planning Inc bought a new position in Discover Financial Services during the second quarter worth about $91,044,000. Finally, Samlyn Capital LLC grew its stake in shares of Discover Financial Services by 368.0% in the 2nd quarter. Samlyn Capital LLC now owns 646,691 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $84,594,000 after purchasing an additional 508,504 shares during the period. 86.94% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Discover Financial Services Trading Up 3.6 %

DFS stock traded up $6.25 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $181.40. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,300,068 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,680,132. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $143.69 and its 200-day simple moving average is $134.29. The company has a quick ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28. Discover Financial Services has a 52 week low of $82.68 and a 52 week high of $188.26. The stock has a market cap of $45.54 billion, a PE ratio of 14.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.13 and a beta of 1.41.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 analyst estimates of $4.36 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.59 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Discover Financial Services will post 13.22 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 issued 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 dividend payout ratio is currently 22.60%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

DFS has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Barclays boosted their price target on Discover Financial Services from $135.00 to $137.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, July 19th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Discover Financial Services from $152.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note 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 research report on Wednesday, October 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Discover Financial Services from $132.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, July 19th. 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 investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target 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.