Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. Sells 430 Shares of Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS)

Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. lowered its holdings in Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) by 3.8% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 10,802 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 430 shares during the quarter. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd.’s holdings in Discover Financial Services were worth $982,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in DFS. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. grew its position in Discover Financial Services by 155.1% in the third quarter. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. now owns 301 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 183 shares in the last quarter. Ronald Blue Trust Inc. bought a new position in Discover Financial Services in the second quarter valued at $28,000. Northern Oak Wealth Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Discover Financial Services by 200.0% in the 2nd quarter. Northern Oak Wealth Management Inc. now owns 300 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares during the period. CI Investments Inc. grew its position in shares of Discover Financial Services by 982.4% in the 3rd quarter. CI Investments Inc. now owns 368 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 334 shares during the period. Finally, Householder Group Estate & Retirement Specialist LLC bought a new position in shares of Discover Financial Services in the 3rd quarter valued at about $34,000. Institutional investors own 81.74% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Discover Financial Services Price Performance

Shares of Discover Financial Services stock opened at $101.44 on Wednesday. Discover Financial Services has a twelve month low of $87.64 and a twelve month high of $121.17. The company has a quick ratio of 1.17, a current ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.49. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $110.36 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $103.60. The stock has a market capitalization of $26.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 1.46.

Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS – Get Rating) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 19th. The financial services provider reported $3.77 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 business had revenue of $3.73 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.68 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $3.64 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 27.1% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that Discover Financial Services will post 13.65 EPS for the current year.

Discover Financial Services Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 9th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 23rd were paid a $0.60 dividend. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.37%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 22nd. Discover Financial Services’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 15.49%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Discover Financial Services from $103.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 15th. Morgan Stanley downgraded shares of Discover Financial Services from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and set a $96.00 price objective for the company. in a research report on Wednesday, February 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on shares of Discover Financial Services from $120.00 to $132.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, March 3rd. Credit Suisse Group decreased their price objective on shares of Discover Financial Services from $123.00 to $120.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 20th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets cut their target price on shares of Discover Financial Services from $119.00 to $111.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 20th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $118.20.

Discover Financial Services Company 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.