MML Investors Services LLC Buys 13,306 Shares of Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS)

MML Investors Services LLC raised its holdings in shares of Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS - Free Report) by 6.4% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 220,667 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 13,306 shares during the period. MML Investors Services LLC owned 0.09% of Discover Financial Services worth $30,957,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. State Street Corp lifted 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 valued at $1,472,771,000 after purchasing an additional 80,601 shares during the period. FMR LLC raised its position in shares of 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 valued at $1,051,314,000 after acquiring an additional 558,227 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its position in shares of 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 valued at $257,391,000 after acquiring an additional 12,255 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 7,751 shares during the period. Finally, Cooke & Bieler LP raised its position in shares of Discover Financial Services by 5.1% in the 2nd quarter. Cooke & Bieler LP now owns 1,281,950 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $167,692,000 after acquiring an additional 62,595 shares during the period. 86.94% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Discover Financial Services Stock Down 1.3 %

Shares of DFS traded down $2.39 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $176.83. 1,405,169 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,664,203. The company has a market cap of $44.40 billion, a PE ratio of 14.27, a P/E/G ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 1.45. Discover Financial Services has a 52 week low of $96.46 and a 52 week high of $188.26. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $161.42 and a 200 day simple moving average of $142.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28, a current ratio of 1.08 and a quick ratio of 1.04.

Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 16th. The financial services provider reported $3.69 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.28 by $0.41. The business had revenue of $5.91 billion for 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 in the previous year, the company earned $2.59 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that Discover Financial Services will post 13.34 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Discover Financial Services Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 5th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 21st were given a dividend of $0.70 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, November 21st. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.58%. Discover Financial Services's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 22.60%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on DFS. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Discover Financial Services from $135.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on shares of Discover Financial Services from $170.00 to $232.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Discover Financial Services from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Discover Financial Services from $152.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Finally, Evercore ISI increased their target price 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. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $146.13.

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.