Victory Capital Management Inc. Cuts Stock Position in Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS)

Victory Capital Management Inc. cut its position in shares of Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS - Free Report) by 6.7% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 81,678 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 5,882 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc.'s holdings in Discover Financial Services were worth $11,459,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Bessemer Group Inc. increased its position in Discover Financial Services by 3.8% during the 1st quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 13,349 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,750,000 after purchasing an additional 491 shares during the period. InterOcean Capital Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Discover Financial Services during the first quarter valued at about $205,000. Delap Wealth Advisory LLC bought a new stake in shares of Discover Financial Services in the 1st quarter valued at about $205,000. EP Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Discover Financial Services by 13.3% in the 1st quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 5,321 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $698,000 after buying an additional 626 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Axxcess Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Discover Financial Services by 135.1% during the 1st 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. 86.94% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Discover Financial Services Stock Performance

NYSE DFS opened at $172.80 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $43.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.95, a PEG ratio of 1.10 and a beta of 1.41. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $150.42 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $136.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a current ratio of 1.08. Discover Financial Services has a fifty-two week low of $85.19 and a fifty-two week high of $188.26.

Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 16th. The financial services provider reported $3.69 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.28 by $0.41. Discover Financial Services had a return on equity of 21.38% and a net margin of 13.78%. The company had revenue of $5.91 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.36 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.59 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Discover Financial Services will post 13.34 earnings per share for the current year.

Discover Financial Services Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 5th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 21st will be issued a dividend of $0.70 per share. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.62%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 21st. Discover Financial Services's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 22.60%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have weighed in on DFS. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on shares of Discover Financial Services from $148.00 to $161.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Discover Financial Services from $152.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Evercore ISI upped their target price on Discover Financial Services from $156.00 to $163.00 and gave the company an "in-line" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Discover Financial Services from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $138.81.

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.