DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. Acquires 157 Shares of Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS)

DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. raised its holdings in Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) by 506.5% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 188 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 157 shares during the period. DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc.’s holdings in Discover Financial Services were worth $26,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of DFS. Cooke & Bieler LP grew its stake in shares of Discover Financial Services by 5.1% during the 2nd quarter. Cooke & Bieler LP now owns 1,281,950 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $167,692,000 after acquiring an additional 62,595 shares during the period. Hsbc Holdings PLC grew its stake in shares of Discover Financial Services by 6.7% during the 2nd quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 1,181,333 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $154,064,000 after acquiring an additional 73,902 shares during the period. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd grew its stake in shares of Discover Financial Services by 0.5% during the 2nd quarter. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd now owns 1,162,495 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $152,066,000 after acquiring an additional 6,042 shares during the period. Elser Financial Planning Inc bought a new position in shares of Discover Financial Services during the 2nd quarter worth $91,044,000. Finally, Samlyn Capital LLC grew its stake in shares of Discover Financial Services by 368.0% during the 2nd quarter. Samlyn Capital LLC now owns 646,691 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $84,594,000 after acquiring an additional 508,504 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 86.94% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

DFS has been the subject of several research reports. Barclays increased their price target on Discover Financial Services from $135.00 to $137.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, July 19th. StockNews.com began coverage on Discover Financial Services in a research note on Friday, October 11th. They set a “hold” rating for the company. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on Discover Financial Services from $140.00 to $148.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, July 19th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on Discover Financial Services from $145.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 9th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Discover Financial Services from $132.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, July 19th. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $133.88.

Discover Financial Services Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE DFS opened at $150.53 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $37.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.16, a P/E/G ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 1.41. The company has a current ratio of 1.12, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28. Discover Financial Services has a 1-year low of $79.04 and a 1-year high of $152.90. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $136.63 and its 200 day moving average is $130.89.

Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 16th. The financial services provider reported $3.69 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.28 by $0.41. The company had revenue of $5.91 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.36 billion. Discover Financial Services had a return on equity of 20.92% and a net margin of 12.88%. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.59 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Discover Financial Services will post 13.15 EPS 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 5th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 21st will be issued a dividend of $0.70 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 21st. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.86%. Discover Financial Services’s dividend payout ratio 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; 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.