Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) Shares Bought by Holocene Advisors LP

Holocene Advisors LP lifted its holdings in shares of Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS - Free Report) by 9.9% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 283,269 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 25,602 shares during the period. Holocene Advisors LP owned 0.11% of Discover Financial Services worth $39,740,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. FMR LLC raised its stake in shares of Discover Financial Services by 8.0% in the third 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 during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its position in shares of Discover Financial Services by 0.7% in the third 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 valued at $257,391,000 after purchasing an additional 12,255 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in Discover Financial Services by 0.5% during the third 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 buying an additional 7,751 shares during the period. Cooke & Bieler LP boosted its stake in Discover Financial Services by 5.1% during the second 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 during the period. Finally, Hsbc Holdings PLC boosted its stake in Discover Financial Services by 6.7% during the second quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 1,181,333 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $154,064,000 after buying an additional 73,902 shares during the period. 86.94% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Discover Financial Services Trading Down 1.3 %

NYSE DFS traded down $2.26 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $177.85. The stock had a trading volume of 588,758 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,668,579. 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 $44.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.52, a P/E/G ratio of 1.16 and a beta of 1.45. Discover Financial Services has a one year low of $93.83 and a one year high of $188.26. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $156.66 and a 200 day simple moving average of $139.87.

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 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 net margin of 13.78% and a return on equity of 21.38%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.59 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Discover Financial Services will post 13.34 earnings per share for the current year.

Discover Financial Services Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 5th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 21st will be issued a $0.70 dividend. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.57%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 21st. Discover Financial Services's dividend payout ratio is currently 22.60%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on DFS. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Discover Financial Services from $152.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, October 18th. Evercore ISI upped their price target on 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. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on Discover Financial Services from $148.00 to $161.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Discover Financial Services from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $138.81.

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.