TD Private Client Wealth LLC Buys 5,970 Shares of Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS)

TD Private Client Wealth LLC raised its stake in Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS - Free Report) by 28.1% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 27,232 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 5,970 shares during the quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC's holdings in Discover Financial Services were worth $3,820,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in DFS. CTC Alternative Strategies Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Discover Financial Services by 3.2% during the third quarter. CTC Alternative Strategies Ltd. now owns 2,047 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $287,000 after buying an additional 63 shares in the last quarter. Eagle Bluffs Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in Discover Financial Services by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. Eagle Bluffs Wealth Management LLC now owns 14,501 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,034,000 after acquiring an additional 67 shares during the last quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Discover Financial Services by 27.4% during the 3rd quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 316 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $44,000 after acquiring an additional 68 shares in the last quarter. Inlet Private Wealth LLC raised its holdings in shares of Discover Financial Services by 2.4% in the third quarter. Inlet Private Wealth LLC now owns 3,185 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $447,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. lifted its position in shares of Discover Financial Services by 0.4% in the third quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. now owns 17,664 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,478,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.94% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on DFS shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price 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. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective 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 target price on Discover Financial Services from $156.00 to $163.00 and gave the stock an "in-line" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. StockNews.com cut Discover Financial Services from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on Discover Financial Services from $148.00 to $161.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Discover Financial Services presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $146.13.

Discover Financial Services Stock Performance

Discover Financial Services stock traded down $2.59 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $175.64. The company had a trading volume of 748,699 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,656,416. Discover Financial Services has a one year low of $96.46 and a one year high of $188.26. The firm has a market cap of $44.10 billion, a PE ratio of 14.38, a PEG ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 1.45. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $163.02 and a 200 day moving average of $142.75. 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 announced 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 company had revenue of $5.91 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.36 billion. Discover Financial Services had a return on equity of 21.38% and a net margin of 13.78%. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.59 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Discover Financial Services will post 13.34 earnings per share for the current year.

Discover Financial Services Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 5th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 21st were given a $0.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, November 21st. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.59%. Discover Financial Services's payout ratio is presently 22.60%.

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.