Mizuho Securities USA LLC Raises Stake in Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS)

Mizuho Securities USA LLC increased its stake in shares of Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS - Free Report) by 1,272.0% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 265,155 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 245,829 shares during the period. Mizuho Securities USA LLC owned approximately 0.11% of Discover Financial Services worth $37,199,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. raised its stake in Discover Financial Services by 506.5% during 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 bought a new position in Discover Financial Services in the second quarter valued at about $26,000. Y.D. More Investments Ltd boosted its position in Discover Financial Services by 147.8% in the second quarter. Y.D. More Investments Ltd now owns 223 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 133 shares during the last quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. grew its stake in shares of Discover Financial Services by 72.5% during 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 purchasing an additional 95 shares during the period. Finally, Larson Financial Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Discover Financial Services by 348.2% during the 2nd quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 251 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 195 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 86.94% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently issued reports on DFS. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Discover Financial Services from $152.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, October 18th. Barclays upped their price objective on Discover Financial Services from $135.00 to $137.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, July 19th. StockNews.com cut Discover Financial Services from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on Discover Financial Services from $156.00 to $163.00 and gave the company an "in-line" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Discover Financial Services from $132.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, July 19th. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $138.81.

Discover Financial Services Price Performance

NYSE:DFS traded up $2.24 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $176.07. The stock had a trading volume of 3,174,543 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,687,689. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a current ratio of 1.08. The stock has a market capitalization of $44.21 billion, a PE ratio of 14.21, a PEG ratio of 1.13 and a beta of 1.41. Discover Financial Services has a 52 week low of $84.03 and a 52 week high of $188.26. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $147.90 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $135.91.

Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results 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. Discover Financial Services had a net margin of 13.78% and a return on equity of 21.38%. The company had revenue of $5.91 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.36 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.59 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Discover Financial Services will post 13.22 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Discover Financial Services Announces Dividend

The business 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.59%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 21st. Discover Financial Services's payout ratio 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.