Swiss National Bank Sells 35,300 Shares of Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS)

Swiss National Bank reduced its position in Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) by 4.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 781,590 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 35,300 shares during the period. Swiss National Bank owned 0.31% of Discover Financial Services worth $87,851,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in DFS. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. raised its holdings in Discover Financial Services by 9.2% during the 4th quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. now owns 15,152 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,703,000 after acquiring an additional 1,277 shares during the period. Essex Financial Services Inc. lifted its holdings in Discover Financial Services by 33.5% during the 4th quarter. Essex Financial Services Inc. now owns 3,802 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $427,000 after purchasing an additional 955 shares in the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in Discover Financial Services by 38.7% in the 4th quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 668,666 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $75,158,000 after purchasing an additional 186,531 shares during the period. Mission Wealth Management LP purchased a new position in Discover Financial Services during the 4th quarter valued at about $267,000. Finally, Certuity LLC purchased a new position in Discover Financial Services during the 4th quarter valued at about $339,000. 86.94% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Discover Financial Services Trading Up 0.4 %

NYSE DFS opened at $125.04 on Friday. Discover Financial Services has a 12 month low of $79.04 and a 12 month high of $131.65. The company has a current ratio of 1.12, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.50. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $124.41 and its 200-day moving average price is $108.48. The stock has a market cap of $31.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.26, a P/E/G ratio of 0.74 and a beta of 1.43.

Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 18th. The financial services provider reported $1.10 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.98 by ($1.88). The firm had revenue of $4.21 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.07 billion. Discover Financial Services had a net margin of 10.56% and a return on equity of 17.07%. During the same period last year, the company posted $3.58 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Discover Financial Services will post 11.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Discover Financial Services Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 6th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 23rd will be issued a $0.70 dividend. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.24%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 22nd. Discover Financial Services’s payout ratio is 31.93%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently commented on DFS. Wolfe Research reaffirmed a “peer perform” rating on shares of Discover Financial Services in a research note on Wednesday, February 21st. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $140.00 price objective (up previously from $117.00) on shares of Discover Financial Services in a research report on Wednesday, February 21st. Barclays lifted their price objective on Discover Financial Services from $120.00 to $123.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, April 19th. Citigroup upped their target price on Discover Financial Services from $127.00 to $168.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 23rd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their target price on shares of Discover Financial Services from $139.00 to $121.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 19th. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Discover Financial Services presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $126.29.

About Discover Financial Services

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.