Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) Shares Sold by Franklin Resources Inc.

Franklin Resources Inc. decreased its stake in Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) by 53.3% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 45,097 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 51,396 shares during the quarter. Franklin Resources Inc.’s holdings in Discover Financial Services were worth $6,643,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. Invst LLC increased its stake in Discover Financial Services by 0.9% during the 3rd quarter. Invst LLC now owns 7,253 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,018,000 after buying an additional 62 shares in the last quarter. CTC Alternative Strategies Ltd. increased its position in shares of Discover Financial Services by 3.2% during the third quarter. CTC Alternative Strategies Ltd. now owns 2,047 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $287,000 after purchasing an additional 63 shares in the last quarter. Eagle Bluffs Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in Discover Financial Services by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. Eagle Bluffs Wealth Management LLC now owns 14,501 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,034,000 after purchasing an additional 67 shares during the last quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in Discover Financial Services by 27.4% in the 3rd quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 316 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $44,000 after purchasing an additional 68 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Inlet Private Wealth LLC boosted its stake in Discover Financial Services by 2.4% during the 3rd quarter. Inlet Private Wealth LLC now owns 3,185 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $447,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.94% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on shares of Discover Financial Services from $170.00 to $232.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Discover Financial Services from $152.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on Discover Financial Services from $156.00 to $163.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. StockNews.com cut Discover Financial Services from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price 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. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $149.57.

Discover Financial Services Price Performance

Discover Financial Services stock opened at $173.16 on Monday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $167.32 and its 200-day simple moving average is $145.26. 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. The company has a market capitalization of $43.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.13 and a beta of 1.45.

Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 16th. The financial services provider reported $3.69 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.28 by $0.41. The company 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 previous year, the company earned $2.59 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect 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. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 21st were paid a dividend of $0.70 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, November 21st. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.62%. Discover Financial Services’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 22.60%.

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.