Birch Capital Management LLC Decreases Position in Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS)

Birch Capital Management LLC reduced its stake in Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) by 2.2% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 2,773 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 62 shares during the period. Birch Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Discover Financial Services were worth $480,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. FMR LLC grew its position in shares of 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 valued at $1,051,314,000 after buying an additional 558,227 shares during the last quarter. Samlyn Capital LLC grew its holdings in shares of Discover Financial Services by 368.0% during the second quarter. Samlyn Capital LLC now owns 646,691 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $84,594,000 after purchasing an additional 508,504 shares during the last quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC grew its holdings in shares of Discover Financial Services by 1,272.0% during the third quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 265,155 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $37,199,000 after purchasing an additional 245,829 shares during the last quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. increased its position in shares of Discover Financial Services by 67.1% during the second quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 478,599 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $62,606,000 after purchasing an additional 192,142 shares in the last quarter. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Discover Financial Services in the 3rd quarter valued at about $21,169,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.94% of the company’s stock.

Discover Financial Services Price Performance

DFS stock traded down $1.07 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $178.14. 658,045 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 841,245. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $173.39 and its 200-day moving average price is $149.34. 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 has a market cap of $44.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.38, a PEG ratio of 1.13 and a beta of 1.46. Discover Financial Services has a fifty-two week low of $96.46 and a fifty-two week high of $188.26.

Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 16th. The financial services provider reported $3.69 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.28 by $0.41. The business had revenue of $5.91 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 previous year, the company posted $2.59 EPS. Research analysts predict that Discover Financial Services will post 13.43 earnings per share for the current year.

Discover Financial Services Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 5th. Stockholders 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.57%. Discover Financial Services’s dividend payout ratio is presently 22.60%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on DFS. Evercore ISI raised their target price on shares of Discover Financial Services from $156.00 to $163.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on Discover Financial Services from $170.00 to $232.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. StockNews.com downgraded Discover Financial Services from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Discover Financial Services from $135.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on Discover Financial Services from $148.00 to $161.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Discover Financial Services has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $160.07.

Discover Financial Services Company 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.