Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) Shares Purchased by Mariner LLC

Mariner LLC grew its position in Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS - Free Report) by 5.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 47,042 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 2,338 shares during the quarter. Mariner LLC's holdings in Discover Financial Services were worth $8,149,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in DFS. Hemington Wealth Management increased its position in Discover Financial Services by 11.0% during the 4th quarter. Hemington Wealth Management now owns 503 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $87,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. grew its holdings in Discover Financial Services by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 9,248 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,602,000 after buying an additional 56 shares during the period. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. grew its holdings in Discover Financial Services by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. now owns 6,158 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,067,000 after buying an additional 57 shares during the period. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. grew its holdings in Discover Financial Services by 4.2% in the 4th quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 1,411 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $244,000 after buying an additional 57 shares during the period. Finally, Invst LLC grew its holdings in Discover Financial Services by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter. Invst LLC now owns 7,253 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,018,000 after buying an additional 62 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.94% of the company's stock.

Discover Financial Services Stock Performance

Shares of Discover Financial Services stock traded up $8.03 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $186.72. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,501,725 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,112,174. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $170.27 and its 200 day simple moving average is $173.02. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a current ratio of 1.09. Discover Financial Services has a one year low of $119.95 and a one year high of $205.76. The stock has a market cap of $46.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 1.20.

Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The financial services provider reported $4.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.33 by $0.92. Discover Financial Services had a net margin of 17.29% and a return on equity of 26.18%. The company had revenue of $4.25 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.25 billion. As a group, analysts expect that Discover Financial Services will post 13.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

DFS has been the topic of several research analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on Discover Financial Services from $169.00 to $129.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Discover Financial Services from $185.00 to $214.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on Discover Financial Services from $193.00 to $210.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. StockNews.com lowered Discover Financial Services from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. Finally, Barclays lifted their price objective on Discover Financial Services from $186.00 to $209.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Discover Financial Services presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $188.00.

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.