Pitcairn Co. Sells 821 Shares of Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS)

Pitcairn Co. lessened its stake in Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) by 15.0% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 4,652 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 821 shares during the period. Pitcairn Co.’s holdings in Discover Financial Services were worth $653,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Discover Financial Services in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $26,000. DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. lifted its position in Discover Financial Services by 506.5% in the third quarter. DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. now owns 188 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 157 shares during the period. Y.D. More Investments Ltd boosted its stake in Discover Financial Services by 147.8% during the second quarter. Y.D. More Investments Ltd now owns 223 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 133 shares in the last quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. increased its holdings in Discover Financial Services by 72.5% in the 2nd quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 226 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 95 shares during the period. Finally, Larson Financial Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Discover Financial Services by 348.2% in the 2nd quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 251 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 195 shares in the last quarter. 86.94% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. StockNews.com cut shares of Discover Financial Services from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Discover Financial Services from $152.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on Discover Financial Services from $148.00 to $161.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Finally, Evercore ISI upped their price target on Discover Financial Services from $156.00 to $163.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $138.81.

Discover Financial Services Stock Up 1.9 %

NYSE:DFS opened at $182.68 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $45.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.74, a P/E/G ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 1.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a current ratio of 1.08. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $153.26 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $138.24. Discover Financial Services has a 52-week low of $85.19 and a 52-week high of $188.26.

Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 16th. The financial services provider reported $3.69 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.28 by $0.41. The business had revenue of $5.91 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.36 billion. Discover Financial Services had a return on equity of 21.38% and a net margin of 13.78%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.59 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that Discover Financial Services will post 13.34 EPS for the current year.

Discover Financial Services Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 5th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 21st will be given a dividend of $0.70 per share. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.53%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 21st. Discover Financial Services’s dividend payout ratio 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.