Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) Shares Sold by Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC

Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC lessened its position in Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) by 4.5% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 26,366 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 1,234 shares during the period. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC’s holdings in Discover Financial Services were worth $3,699,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of DFS. FMR LLC grew its stake in Discover Financial Services by 8.0% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 7,493,862 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,051,314,000 after acquiring an additional 558,227 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Discover Financial Services by 0.7% during the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 1,834,705 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $257,391,000 after purchasing an additional 12,255 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Discover Financial Services by 0.5% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,728,276 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $242,460,000 after purchasing an additional 7,751 shares during the period. Cooke & Bieler LP increased its stake in 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 valued at $167,692,000 after purchasing an additional 62,595 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hsbc Holdings PLC lifted its position in Discover Financial Services by 6.7% during the second quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 1,181,333 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $154,064,000 after buying an additional 73,902 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.94% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

DFS has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on Discover Financial Services from $148.00 to $161.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, October 18th. Evercore ISI boosted their target price 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. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Discover Financial Services from $152.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of Discover Financial Services from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Discover Financial Services currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $138.81.

Discover Financial Services Price Performance

DFS stock opened at $177.35 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $159.88 and a 200-day simple moving average of $141.13. The firm has a market cap of $44.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 1.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a current ratio of 1.08. Discover Financial Services has a 1 year low of $96.46 and a 1 year high of $188.26.

Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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. Discover Financial Services had a net margin of 13.78% and a return on equity of 21.38%. The company had revenue of $5.91 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.36 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.59 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that Discover Financial Services will post 13.34 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Discover Financial Services Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 5th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 21st were given a $0.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, November 21st. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.58%. Discover Financial Services’s payout ratio is currently 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.