First Western Trust Bank Invests $235,000 in Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS)

First Western Trust Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 2,007 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $235,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of DFS. Boston Partners boosted its holdings in shares of Discover Financial Services by 35.2% during the first quarter. Boston Partners now owns 5,577,851 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $551,386,000 after acquiring an additional 1,452,811 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley boosted its stake in Discover Financial Services by 35.6% during the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 4,927,342 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $482,042,000 after purchasing an additional 1,293,260 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new position in Discover Financial Services in the 4th quarter worth about $340,672,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in Discover Financial Services by 12.8% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,323,219 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $388,352,000 after purchasing an additional 377,737 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Envestnet Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Discover Financial Services by 168.1% during the first quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,570,716 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $98,363,000 after buying an additional 1,611,947 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.63% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on DFS shares. Bank of America decreased their price objective on Discover Financial Services from $116.00 to $102.00 in a report on Thursday, October 5th. TD Cowen started coverage on Discover Financial Services in a report on Wednesday, November 1st. They set an “outperform” rating and a $100.00 price target on the stock. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on shares of Discover Financial Services from $95.00 to $94.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, November 16th. Barclays initiated coverage on shares of Discover Financial Services in a research note on Wednesday, November 15th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $99.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price target on shares of Discover Financial Services from $115.00 to $108.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 20th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $104.53.

Discover Financial Services Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE DFS opened at $86.55 on Tuesday. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $86.50 and its 200 day simple moving average is $98.35. The stock has a market capitalization of $21.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.45, a PEG ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 1.44. 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 has a 52-week low of $79.04 and a 52-week high of $122.50.

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

Discover Financial Services Dividend Announcement

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

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.