Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA Buys 4,594 Shares of Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS)

Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its position in Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) by 0.4% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,063,980 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 4,594 shares during the quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA owned 0.42% of Discover Financial Services worth $149,266,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. boosted its stake in Discover Financial Services by 109.5% in the third quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. now owns 207,968 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $29,176,000 after buying an additional 108,694 shares in the last quarter. King Luther Capital Management Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Discover Financial Services by 1.4% in the third quarter. King Luther Capital Management Corp now owns 38,621 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $5,418,000 after acquiring an additional 545 shares during the last quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI boosted its stake in shares of Discover Financial Services by 19.8% in the 3rd quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI now owns 4,658 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $653,000 after purchasing an additional 769 shares in the last quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Discover Financial Services by 6.2% during the 3rd quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. now owns 4,767 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $669,000 after purchasing an additional 278 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First Horizon Advisors Inc. increased its position in Discover Financial Services by 8.2% during the 3rd quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 6,028 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $846,000 after purchasing an additional 459 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.94% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have weighed in on DFS shares. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on shares of 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. StockNews.com lowered Discover Financial Services from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Evercore ISI upped 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. Finally, 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 report on Friday, October 18th. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Discover Financial Services currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $138.81.

Discover Financial Services Stock Up 2.5 %

Shares of Discover Financial Services stock opened at $179.29 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $45.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.47, a PEG ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 1.41. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $152.29 and its 200 day moving average is $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 one year low of $85.19 and a one year high of $188.26.

Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 16th. The financial services provider reported $3.69 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.28 by $0.41. The company had revenue of $5.91 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 previous year, the business posted $2.59 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Discover Financial Services will post 13.34 EPS for the current year.

Discover Financial Services Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 5th. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 1.56%. Discover Financial Services’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.