Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) Shares Acquired by CTC Alternative Strategies Ltd.

CTC Alternative Strategies Ltd. grew its position in Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) by 3.2% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 2,047 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 63 shares during the period. CTC Alternative Strategies Ltd.’s holdings in Discover Financial Services were worth $287,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Discover Financial Services in the 2nd quarter valued at about $26,000. DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. lifted its position in Discover Financial Services by 506.5% during the 3rd quarter. DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. now owns 188 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 157 shares in the last quarter. Y.D. More Investments Ltd lifted its position in Discover Financial Services by 147.8% during the 2nd quarter. Y.D. More Investments Ltd now owns 223 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 133 shares in the last quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. lifted its position in Discover Financial Services by 72.5% during the 2nd quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 226 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 95 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. acquired a new position in Discover Financial Services during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $30,000. 86.94% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Discover Financial Services Stock Performance

DFS stock opened at $179.22 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.08, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28. The firm has a market cap of $45.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.46, a P/E/G ratio of 1.13 and a beta of 1.45. Discover Financial Services has a 12-month low of $96.46 and a 12-month high of $188.26. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $160.69 and its 200 day simple moving average is $141.63.

Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) last posted 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 period in the prior year, the company posted $2.59 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Discover Financial Services will post 13.34 EPS for the current year.

Discover Financial Services Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 5th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 21st were given a dividend of $0.70 per share. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.56%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, November 21st. Discover Financial Services’s dividend payout ratio is currently 22.60%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently commented on DFS. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on 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. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target 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. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on 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 Discover Financial Services from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $140.33.

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.