B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG Buys New Shares in Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS)

B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG purchased a new position in Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 26,719 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $3,748,000.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in DFS. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise grew its stake in shares of Discover Financial Services by 127.6% during the 3rd quarter. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise now owns 8,067 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,132,000 after acquiring an additional 4,522 shares during the period. Verity & Verity LLC boosted its position in shares of Discover Financial Services by 7.7% in the third quarter. Verity & Verity LLC now owns 4,380 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $614,000 after purchasing an additional 312 shares during the period. LMR Partners LLP bought a new position in shares of Discover Financial Services in the third quarter worth approximately $7,838,000. Quest Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Discover Financial Services by 56.8% in the third quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 6,792 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $953,000 after purchasing an additional 2,459 shares in the last quarter. Finally, TrinityPoint Wealth LLC raised its position in shares of Discover Financial Services by 14.4% during the 3rd quarter. TrinityPoint Wealth LLC now owns 3,440 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $483,000 after purchasing an additional 432 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 86.94% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently commented on DFS. Evercore ISI boosted 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 report on Wednesday, October 30th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted 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 note on Friday, October 18th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on Discover Financial Services from $148.00 to $161.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” 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 note on Monday, November 4th. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Discover Financial Services has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $138.81.

Discover Financial Services Stock Performance

Discover Financial Services stock opened at $172.80 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $43.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 1.41. The company’s 50-day moving average is $150.42 and its 200 day moving average is $136.99. Discover Financial Services has a 1-year low of $85.19 and a 1-year high of $188.26. 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 (NYSE:DFS) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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. Discover Financial Services had a return on equity of 21.38% and a net margin of 13.78%. The company had revenue of $5.91 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.36 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.59 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Discover Financial Services will post 13.23 EPS for the current year.

Discover Financial Services Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 5th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 21st will be paid a $0.70 dividend. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.62%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 21st. Discover Financial Services’s dividend payout ratio is presently 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.