Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) Shares Sold by Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD

Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD reduced its position in Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) by 1.9% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 624,930 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 11,813 shares during the quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD’s holdings in Discover Financial Services were worth $56,820,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Cetera Investment Advisers increased its holdings in Discover Financial Services by 0.6% in the second quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 15,070 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,425,000 after buying an additional 93 shares in the last quarter. Toroso Investments LLC increased its stake in shares of Discover Financial Services by 3.1% in the 1st quarter. Toroso Investments LLC now owns 3,299 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $364,000 after purchasing an additional 98 shares in the last quarter. JBF Capital Inc. raised its holdings in Discover Financial Services by 2.9% in the 3rd quarter. JBF Capital Inc. now owns 3,600 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $327,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the period. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in Discover Financial Services by 2.1% during the third quarter. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,900 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $445,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Insight Folios Inc grew its holdings in Discover Financial Services by 1.9% in the third quarter. Insight Folios Inc now owns 6,057 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $551,000 after purchasing an additional 111 shares during the period. 81.74% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Robert Andrew Eichfeld sold 13,477 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $114.18, for a total value of $1,538,803.86. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 31,509 shares in the company, valued at $3,597,697.62. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, EVP Carlos Minetti sold 7,000 shares of Discover Financial Services stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $118.00, for a total value of $826,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 114,493 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,510,174. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Robert Andrew Eichfeld sold 13,477 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $114.18, for a total value of $1,538,803.86. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 31,509 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,597,697.62. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.59% of the company’s stock.

Discover Financial Services Stock Performance

NYSE DFS opened at $97.52 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.49, a quick ratio of 1.17 and a current ratio of 1.17. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $110.28 and its two-hundred day moving average is $103.61. The firm has a market capitalization of $25.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 1.46. Discover Financial Services has a fifty-two week low of $87.64 and a fifty-two week high of $121.17.

Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS – Get Rating) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 19th. The financial services provider reported $3.77 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.58 by $0.19. Discover Financial Services had a net margin of 28.89% and a return on equity of 33.88%. The firm had revenue of $3.73 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.68 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $3.64 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 27.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts anticipate that Discover Financial Services will post 13.65 earnings per share for the current year.

Discover Financial Services Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 9th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 23rd were issued a dividend of $0.60 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 22nd. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.46%. Discover Financial Services’s dividend payout ratio is currently 15.49%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

DFS has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Credit Suisse Group dropped their price target on shares of Discover Financial Services from $123.00 to $120.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 20th. Bank of America cut shares of Discover Financial Services from a “buy” rating to an “underperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 13th. Citigroup raised their price target on shares of Discover Financial Services from $113.00 to $118.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 24th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Discover Financial Services from $103.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 15th. Finally, UBS Group initiated coverage on Discover Financial Services in a research report on Monday, November 21st. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $120.00 target price on the stock. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $118.20.

Discover Financial Services Profile

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Discover Financial Services is a holding company, which engages in the provision of direct banking and payment services. It operates through the Direct Banking and Payment Services segments. The Direct Banking segment offers Discover-branded credit cards issued to individuals on the Discover Network and other consumer products and services, including private student loans, personal loans, home loans, and other consumer lending and deposit products.