King Luther Capital Management Corp Acquires 545 Shares of Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS)

King Luther Capital Management Corp raised its stake in shares of Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) by 1.4% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 38,621 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 545 shares during the period. King Luther Capital Management Corp’s holdings in Discover Financial Services were worth $5,418,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in DFS. Bessemer Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Discover Financial Services by 3.8% in the 1st quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 13,349 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,750,000 after purchasing an additional 491 shares during the last quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Discover Financial Services by 13.3% during the 1st quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 5,321 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $698,000 after buying an additional 626 shares during the period. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in Discover Financial Services by 135.1% in the 1st quarter. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC now owns 7,793 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,022,000 after buying an additional 4,478 shares during the last quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank raised its holdings in Discover Financial Services by 2.1% in the 1st quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 146,177 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $19,162,000 after acquiring an additional 2,951 shares during the period. Finally, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board lifted its position 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 acquiring an additional 89,020 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.94% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the company. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on 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. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on Discover Financial Services from $156.00 to $163.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Discover Financial Services from $152.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of Discover Financial Services from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $138.81.

Discover Financial Services Stock Up 1.7 %

Shares of DFS opened at $175.01 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28. The stock has a market cap of $43.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.12, a P/E/G ratio of 1.10 and a beta of 1.41. Discover Financial Services has a 12 month low of $85.19 and a 12 month high of $188.26. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $151.33 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $137.26.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 firm had revenue of $5.91 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.36 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.59 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that Discover Financial Services will post 13.34 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Discover Financial Services Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 5th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 21st will be given a $0.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 21st. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.60%. 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.