Graypoint LLC Raises Stock Position in Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS)

Graypoint LLC lifted its stake in Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) by 7.5% during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 2,247 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 156 shares during the period. Graypoint LLC’s holdings in Discover Financial Services were worth $294,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of DFS. Van ECK Associates Corp grew its holdings in shares of Discover Financial Services by 2.5% during the second quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 44,647 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $5,841,000 after purchasing an additional 1,085 shares during the last quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC boosted its position in shares of Discover Financial Services by 3.0% in the 2nd quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 58,072 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $7,596,000 after purchasing an additional 1,709 shares during the period. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Discover Financial Services during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $453,000. Rothschild Investment LLC acquired a new position in Discover Financial Services during the second quarter worth approximately $369,000. Finally, Americana Partners LLC acquired a new position in Discover Financial Services during the second quarter worth approximately $205,000. 86.94% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on shares of Discover Financial Services from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, July 8th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on shares of Discover Financial Services from $140.00 to $148.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday, July 19th. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on shares of Discover Financial Services from $115.00 to $119.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, July 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Discover Financial Services from $132.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, July 19th. Finally, Barclays boosted their price target on Discover Financial Services from $135.00 to $137.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, July 19th. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Discover Financial Services presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $132.94.

Discover Financial Services Stock Up 0.8 %

DFS stock opened at $138.71 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.12, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $133.49 and its 200 day moving average price is $127.26. Discover Financial Services has a 52 week low of $79.04 and a 52 week high of $147.61. The company has a market cap of $34.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.82, a P/E/G ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 1.43.

Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 17th. The financial services provider reported $6.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.06 by $3.00. The company had revenue of $4.54 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.18 billion. Discover Financial Services had a net margin of 12.88% and a return on equity of 20.92%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 17.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $3.54 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Discover Financial Services will post 12.75 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Discover Financial Services Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 5th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 22nd will be issued a $0.70 dividend. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.02%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 22nd. Discover Financial Services’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 31.93%.

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.