Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) Shares Bought by Sumitomo Life Insurance Co.

Sumitomo Life Insurance Co. lifted its stake in shares of Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) by 2.8% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 8,641 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 233 shares during the quarter. Sumitomo Life Insurance Co.’s holdings in Discover Financial Services were worth $1,212,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in DFS. SageView Advisory Group LLC bought a new stake in Discover Financial Services in the 4th quarter valued at about $250,000. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV boosted its position in shares of Discover Financial Services by 14.6% during the first quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 854 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $112,000 after buying an additional 109 shares during the period. Alaska Permanent Fund Corp grew its holdings in Discover Financial Services by 6.4% in the 1st quarter. Alaska Permanent Fund Corp now owns 22,397 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,936,000 after buying an additional 1,341 shares in the last quarter. Czech National Bank increased its position in Discover Financial Services by 0.5% in the 1st quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 43,998 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $5,768,000 after acquiring an additional 202 shares during the period. Finally, Wedmont Private Capital acquired a new stake in Discover Financial Services in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $265,000. Institutional investors own 86.94% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on Discover Financial Services from $145.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 9th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on shares of Discover Financial Services from $140.00 to $148.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Friday, July 19th. Evercore ISI upped their price target on shares of Discover Financial Services from $140.00 to $156.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research note on Monday, October 7th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on shares of Discover Financial Services from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, July 8th. Finally, Barclays boosted their target price on Discover Financial Services from $135.00 to $137.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, July 19th. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Discover Financial Services presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $133.88.

Discover Financial Services Stock Performance

Shares of Discover Financial Services stock opened at $147.54 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $37.00 billion, a PE ratio of 16.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 1.41. Discover Financial Services has a 12 month low of $79.04 and a 12 month high of $149.97. The company has a quick ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 1.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $136.12 and a 200-day simple moving average of $130.75.

Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 17th. The financial services provider reported $6.06 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.06 by $3.00. The company had revenue of $4.54 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.18 billion. Discover Financial Services had a return on equity of 20.92% and a net margin of 12.88%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 17.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $3.54 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Discover Financial Services will post 13.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Discover Financial Services Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 5th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 21st will be paid a $0.70 dividend. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.90%. Discover Financial Services’s dividend payout ratio is presently 31.93%.

Discover Financial Services 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; 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.