Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB Buys 4,253 Shares of Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS)

Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB raised its position in shares of Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS - Free Report) by 117.6% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 7,869 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 4,253 shares during the period. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB's holdings in Discover Financial Services were worth $1,104,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. State Street Corp increased its holdings in Discover Financial Services by 0.8% in the third 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 increased its stake in 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 buying an additional 558,227 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its stake in 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 buying an additional 12,255 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Discover Financial Services by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,728,276 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $242,460,000 after purchasing an additional 7,751 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cooke & Bieler LP boosted its holdings in 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 worth $167,692,000 after buying an additional 62,595 shares during the period. 86.94% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

DFS has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Discover Financial Services from $135.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. StockNews.com cut shares of Discover Financial Services from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Evercore ISI raised their target price on shares of Discover Financial Services from $156.00 to $163.00 and gave the stock an "in-line" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on shares of Discover Financial Services from $148.00 to $161.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a report on Friday, October 18th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target 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. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $149.57.

Discover Financial Services Trading Up 0.2 %

Shares of NYSE DFS traded up $0.36 on Friday, reaching $176.00. 1,046,587 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,653,829. Discover Financial Services has a fifty-two week low of $96.46 and a fifty-two week high of $188.26. The company has a 50 day moving average of $164.43 and a 200 day moving average of $143.50. The company has a current ratio of 1.08, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28. The stock has a market capitalization of $44.19 billion, a PE ratio of 14.21, a P/E/G ratio of 1.13 and a beta of 1.45.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.28 by $0.41. The business had revenue of $5.91 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations 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 in the previous year, the business earned $2.59 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Discover Financial Services will post 13.43 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Discover Financial Services Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 5th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 21st were given a $0.70 dividend. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.59%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, November 21st. Discover Financial Services's dividend 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.