Principal Financial Group Inc. Buys 9,463 Shares of Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS)

Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS - Free Report) by 3.3% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 294,975 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 9,463 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned 0.12% of Discover Financial Services worth $41,382,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. State Street Corp increased its position in Discover Financial Services by 0.8% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 10,498,044 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,472,771,000 after buying an additional 80,601 shares during the period. FMR LLC raised its stake in Discover Financial Services by 8.0% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 7,493,862 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,051,314,000 after purchasing an additional 558,227 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its stake in Discover Financial Services by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 1,834,705 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $257,391,000 after purchasing an additional 12,255 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Discover Financial Services by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,728,276 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $242,460,000 after purchasing an additional 7,751 shares during the period. Finally, Cooke & Bieler LP grew its position in shares of Discover Financial Services by 5.1% during the 2nd quarter. Cooke & Bieler LP now owns 1,281,950 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $167,692,000 after purchasing an additional 62,595 shares in the last quarter. 86.94% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently issued reports on DFS. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Discover Financial Services from $135.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on Discover Financial Services from $148.00 to $161.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th. StockNews.com cut Discover Financial Services from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on shares of Discover Financial Services from $170.00 to $232.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Finally, Evercore ISI increased their price objective on shares of Discover Financial Services from $156.00 to $163.00 and gave the stock an "in-line" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Discover Financial Services presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $149.57.

Discover Financial Services Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:DFS traded up $2.07 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $176.58. 373,929 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,653,631. Discover Financial Services has a 1-year low of $96.46 and a 1-year high of $188.26. The company has a market capitalization of $44.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.13 and a beta of 1.45. 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 business's 50 day moving average is $167.86 and its 200-day moving average is $145.78.

Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS - Get Free Report) last posted 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. The firm had revenue of $5.91 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.36 billion. Discover Financial Services had a return on equity of 21.38% and a net margin of 13.78%. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.59 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that Discover Financial Services will post 13.43 earnings per share for the current year.

Discover Financial Services Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 5th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 21st were issued 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 was Thursday, November 21st. Discover Financial Services's payout ratio is 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.