Foster & Motley Inc. Sells 8,215 Shares of Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS)

Foster & Motley Inc. cut its position in Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS - Free Report) by 30.3% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 18,866 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 8,215 shares during the period. Foster & Motley Inc.'s holdings in Discover Financial Services were worth $2,647,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of DFS. National Pension Service lifted its holdings in shares of Discover Financial Services by 14.8% in the 3rd quarter. National Pension Service now owns 439,756 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $61,693,000 after buying an additional 56,814 shares during the period. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in Discover Financial Services by 135.1% during the 1st quarter. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC now owns 7,793 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,022,000 after purchasing an additional 4,478 shares during the last quarter. Gabelli Funds LLC acquired a new position in shares of Discover Financial Services during the 1st quarter valued at about $983,000. William B. Walkup & Associates Inc. purchased a new position in Discover Financial Services in the second quarter worth approximately $4,835,000. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC grew its holdings in shares of Discover Financial Services by 61.0% in the first quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 62,529 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $8,197,000 after purchasing an additional 23,702 shares in the last quarter. 86.94% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

DFS has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Evercore ISI upped 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. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on shares of Discover Financial Services from $148.00 to $161.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Discover Financial Services from $132.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, July 19th. Wells Fargo & Company upped 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 report on Friday, October 18th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on Discover Financial Services from $115.00 to $119.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a report on Friday, July 19th. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $138.81.

Discover Financial Services Price Performance

Shares of NYSE DFS traded down $6.09 during trading on Thursday, hitting $176.46. The company had a trading volume of 1,888,392 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,662,945. Discover Financial Services has a 52 week low of $82.15 and a 52 week high of $188.26. The company has a market cap of $44.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.73, a PEG ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 1.41. 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 business's 50-day moving average is $142.21 and its 200 day moving average is $133.60.

Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 16th. The financial services provider reported $3.69 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.28 by $0.41. The company had revenue of $5.91 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 period last year, the firm earned $2.59 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Discover Financial Services will post 13.35 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Discover Financial Services Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 5th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 21st will be paid a dividend of $0.70 per share. 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 currently 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.