Penserra Capital Management LLC Cuts Stake in Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS)

Penserra Capital Management LLC reduced its holdings in shares of Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) by 11.9% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 96,293 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 13,022 shares during the period. Penserra Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Discover Financial Services were worth $13,507,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in DFS. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board increased its stake in Discover Financial Services by 57.6% during the 1st quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 243,620 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $31,936,000 after buying an additional 89,020 shares during the period. Gabelli Funds LLC acquired a new position in Discover Financial Services during the 1st quarter worth approximately $983,000. Caxton Associates LP grew its holdings in Discover Financial Services by 360.5% during the 1st quarter. Caxton Associates LP now owns 58,672 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $7,691,000 after acquiring an additional 45,932 shares in the last quarter. BlueMar Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Discover Financial Services by 33.7% during the 1st quarter. BlueMar Capital Management LLC now owns 23,405 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,068,000 after acquiring an additional 5,905 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC grew its holdings in Discover Financial Services by 61.0% during the 1st quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 62,529 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $8,197,000 after acquiring an additional 23,702 shares in the last quarter. 86.94% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Discover Financial Services Stock Up 2.5 %

Shares of NYSE:DFS opened at $179.29 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $45.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.47, a P/E/G ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 1.41. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $152.29 and a 200 day moving average price of $137.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28, a current ratio of 1.08 and a quick ratio of 1.04. Discover Financial Services has a 1-year low of $85.19 and a 1-year high of $188.26.

Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 16th. The financial services provider reported $3.69 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.28 by $0.41. The company had revenue of $5.91 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.36 billion. Discover Financial Services had a net margin of 13.78% and a return on equity of 21.38%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.59 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Discover Financial Services will post 13.34 EPS for the current year.

Discover Financial Services Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 5th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 21st will be given a dividend of $0.70 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 21st. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.56%. 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.