Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) Shares Bought by Checchi Capital Advisers LLC

Checchi Capital Advisers LLC boosted its stake in Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) by 14.2% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,864 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 356 shares during the period. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC’s holdings in Discover Financial Services were worth $335,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in DFS. Modera Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Discover Financial Services in the second quarter valued at about $263,000. Rothschild Investment Corp IL lifted its position in Discover Financial Services by 12.9% during the 2nd quarter. Rothschild Investment Corp IL now owns 2,530 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $296,000 after acquiring an additional 290 shares in the last quarter. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. AG lifted its position in Discover Financial Services by 0.9% during the 1st quarter. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. AG now owns 32,453 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,208,000 after acquiring an additional 275 shares in the last quarter. Duality Advisers LP acquired a new position in Discover Financial Services during the 1st quarter worth approximately $805,000. Finally, Financial Advocates Investment Management lifted its position in Discover Financial Services by 3.5% during the 1st quarter. Financial Advocates Investment Management now owns 5,729 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $566,000 after acquiring an additional 193 shares in the last quarter. 83.63% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Discover Financial Services Price Performance

DFS opened at $86.36 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $21.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 1.44. Discover Financial Services has a fifty-two week low of $79.04 and a fifty-two week high of $122.50. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $86.56 and its 200 day moving average price is $98.35. The company has a quick ratio of 1.12, a current ratio of 1.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.48.

Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 19th. The financial services provider reported $2.59 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.18 by ($0.59). The business had revenue of $4.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.95 billion. Discover Financial Services had a return on equity of 27.23% and a net margin of 18.39%. Discover Financial Services’s revenue was up 16.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $3.54 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Discover Financial Services will post 12.49 earnings per share for the current year.

Discover Financial Services Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 7th. Investors of record on Wednesday, November 22nd will be paid a dividend of $0.70 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, November 21st. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.24%. Discover Financial Services’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 20.77%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently commented on DFS. Stephens reduced their price target on Discover Financial Services from $116.00 to $98.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 20th. HSBC began coverage on Discover Financial Services in a research report on Friday, October 13th. They set a “buy” rating and a $104.00 price target on the stock. Barclays started coverage on Discover Financial Services in a research report on Wednesday. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $99.00 price target on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their target price on Discover Financial Services from $109.00 to $103.00 in a research report on Monday, October 2nd. Finally, Wolfe Research raised Discover Financial Services from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $104.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Thursday, August 24th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $104.53.

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; private student loans, 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.