AustralianSuper Pty Ltd Has $153.39 Million Holdings in Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS)

AustralianSuper Pty Ltd reduced its stake in shares of Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS - Free Report) by 5.9% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,093,368 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 69,127 shares during the quarter. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd owned 0.44% of Discover Financial Services worth $153,389,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in Discover Financial Services by 135.1% during the first quarter. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC now owns 7,793 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,022,000 after acquiring an additional 4,478 shares in the last quarter. Gabelli Funds LLC bought a new stake in shares of Discover Financial Services during the first quarter worth $983,000. William B. Walkup & Associates Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Discover Financial Services during the second quarter worth $4,835,000. Janus Henderson Group PLC grew its holdings in shares of Discover Financial Services by 61.0% during the first quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 62,529 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $8,197,000 after purchasing an additional 23,702 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Forge First Asset Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Discover Financial Services during the first quarter worth $13,341,000. 86.94% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Discover Financial Services Stock Performance

DFS traded down $6.07 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $148.43. The company's stock had a trading volume of 3,138,928 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,631,109. Discover Financial Services has a 52 week low of $81.09 and a 52 week high of $157.06. The company's 50-day moving average is $139.87 and its 200-day moving average is $132.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a current ratio of 1.12. The firm has a market cap of $37.27 billion, a PE ratio of 12.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 1.41.

Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 16th. The financial services provider reported $3.69 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.28 by $0.41. The firm had revenue of $5.91 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.36 billion. Discover Financial Services had a return on equity of 20.92% and a net margin of 12.88%. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $2.59 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Discover Financial Services will post 13.15 EPS for the current year.

Discover Financial Services Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 5th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 21st will be given a dividend of $0.70 per share. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.89%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 21st. Discover Financial Services's payout ratio is 22.60%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently commented on the company. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on Discover Financial Services from $145.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 9th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Discover Financial Services from $152.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, October 18th. Barclays raised their price target on Discover Financial Services from $135.00 to $137.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, July 19th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on Discover Financial Services from $115.00 to $119.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a report on Friday, July 19th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on Discover Financial Services from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, July 8th. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $136.53.

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.