Olympiad Research LP Boosts Position in Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS)

Olympiad Research LP boosted its holdings in shares of Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS - Free Report) by 105.6% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 12,220 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 6,277 shares during the quarter. Discover Financial Services makes up about 1.1% of Olympiad Research LP's investment portfolio, making the stock its 21st largest holding. Olympiad Research LP's holdings in Discover Financial Services were worth $1,714,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of DFS. Private Advisor Group LLC lifted its holdings in Discover Financial Services by 3.9% during the first quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 13,145 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,723,000 after purchasing an additional 494 shares in the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. increased its stake in Discover Financial Services by 36.4% in the 1st quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 49,105 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $6,437,000 after buying an additional 13,093 shares in the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC raised its holdings in Discover Financial Services by 2.4% during the first quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 6,744 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $884,000 after acquiring an additional 155 shares during the period. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. raised its holdings in Discover Financial Services by 97.0% during the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 906 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $119,000 after acquiring an additional 446 shares during the period. Finally, Empirical Finance LLC lifted its position in shares of Discover Financial Services by 3.1% in the first quarter. Empirical Finance LLC now owns 9,773 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,281,000 after acquiring an additional 298 shares in the last quarter. 86.94% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently issued reports on the company. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on Discover Financial Services from $156.00 to $163.00 and gave the company an "in-line" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted 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 report on Friday, October 18th. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Discover Financial Services from $135.00 to $137.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, July 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Discover Financial Services from $132.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, July 19th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered Discover Financial Services from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $138.81.

Discover Financial Services Trading Down 4.1 %

Shares of DFS traded down $7.55 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $175.00. The stock had a trading volume of 3,350,409 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,669,714. The stock's 50 day moving average is $142.21 and its 200 day moving average is $133.60. The firm has a market cap of $43.94 billion, a PE ratio of 14.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 1.41. 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 has a 1 year low of $82.15 and a 1 year high of $188.26.

Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 16th. The financial services provider reported $3.69 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.28 by $0.41. The company 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 prior year, the firm posted $2.59 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that Discover Financial Services will post 13.35 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Discover Financial Services Dividend Announcement

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 issued a $0.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 21st. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.60%. Discover Financial Services's payout ratio is 22.60%.

About Discover Financial Services

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.