Haverford Trust Co Has $408,000 Position in Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS)

Haverford Trust Co lifted its stake in shares of Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) by 25.2% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 2,910 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 586 shares during the quarter. Haverford Trust Co’s holdings in Discover Financial Services were worth $408,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of DFS. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC lifted its position in Discover Financial Services by 47.6% during the third quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC now owns 2,774 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $389,000 after acquiring an additional 895 shares during the last quarter. Entropy Technologies LP increased its stake in shares of Discover Financial Services by 14.6% during the third quarter. Entropy Technologies LP now owns 12,107 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,698,000 after purchasing an additional 1,544 shares during the period. Apollon Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in Discover Financial Services by 14.0% during the 3rd quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,179 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $586,000 after purchasing an additional 513 shares during the last quarter. Versor Investments LP boosted its stake in Discover Financial Services by 21.5% in the 3rd quarter. Versor Investments LP now owns 75,963 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $10,657,000 after purchasing an additional 13,427 shares during the period. Finally, Venturi Wealth Management LLC grew 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 buying an additional 68 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.94% of the company’s stock.

Discover Financial Services Stock Down 0.5 %

Shares of NYSE DFS opened at $173.76 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $43.63 billion, a PE ratio of 14.02, a P/E/G ratio of 1.15 and a beta of 1.41. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $146.12 and its 200 day simple moving average is $135.31. The company has a quick ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28. Discover Financial Services has a 12-month low of $84.00 and a 12-month high of $188.26.

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 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 last year, the firm posted $2.59 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Discover Financial Services will post 13.22 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Discover Financial Services Announces Dividend

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 given a $0.70 dividend. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.61%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 21st. Discover Financial Services’s payout ratio is currently 22.60%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on DFS. Evercore ISI lifted 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. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective 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. StockNews.com downgraded Discover Financial Services from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Discover Financial Services from $132.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, July 19th. Finally, Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Discover Financial Services from $135.00 to $137.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, July 19th. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $138.81.

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.