Seascape Capital Management Lowers Holdings in Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS)

Seascape Capital Management trimmed its position in shares of Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) by 1.2% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 27,952 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 348 shares during the period. Discover Financial Services makes up about 1.4% of Seascape Capital Management’s holdings, making the stock its 25th biggest holding. Seascape Capital Management’s holdings in Discover Financial Services were worth $3,921,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Cooke & Bieler LP lifted its stake in shares of Discover Financial Services by 5.1% in the second quarter. Cooke & Bieler LP now owns 1,281,950 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $167,692,000 after buying an additional 62,595 shares in the last quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC raised its holdings in Discover Financial Services by 6.7% in 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 last quarter. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd raised its holdings in Discover Financial Services by 0.5% in 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 last quarter. Elser Financial Planning Inc bought a new position in Discover Financial Services in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $91,044,000. Finally, Samlyn Capital LLC boosted its stake in 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 valued at $84,594,000 after purchasing an additional 508,504 shares during the last quarter. 86.94% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on Discover Financial Services from $115.00 to $119.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, July 19th. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Discover Financial Services from $135.00 to $137.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, July 19th. Evercore ISI raised their price target on shares of Discover Financial Services from $156.00 to $163.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. StockNews.com cut shares of Discover Financial Services from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Discover Financial Services from $132.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, July 19th. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Discover Financial Services presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $138.81.

Discover Financial Services Trading Up 0.1 %

NYSE DFS opened at $175.21 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $43.99 billion, a PE ratio of 14.14, a PEG ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 1.41. The company has a current ratio of 1.08, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28. Discover Financial Services has a 12 month low of $82.15 and a 12 month high of $188.26. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $143.69 and its 200-day moving average price is $134.22.

Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) last issued its earnings results 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. Discover Financial Services had a return on equity of 21.38% and a net margin of 13.78%. The business had revenue of $5.91 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.36 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.59 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Discover Financial Services will post 13.35 earnings per share for the current year.

Discover Financial Services Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 5th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 21st will be paid a $0.70 dividend. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.60%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 21st. Discover Financial Services’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 22.60%.

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.