Commerce Bank Lowers Stake in Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS)

Commerce Bank lessened its holdings in Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) by 4.7% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 19,783 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 985 shares during the quarter. Commerce Bank’s holdings in Discover Financial Services were worth $2,775,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Cooke & Bieler LP increased its position in shares of Discover Financial Services by 5.1% in the second quarter. Cooke & Bieler LP now owns 1,281,950 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $167,692,000 after buying an additional 62,595 shares in the last quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC grew its position in shares of Discover Financial Services by 6.7% in the second quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 1,181,333 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $154,064,000 after purchasing an additional 73,902 shares during the period. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd increased its stake in shares of Discover Financial Services by 0.5% during the second quarter. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd now owns 1,162,495 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $152,066,000 after purchasing an additional 6,042 shares in the last quarter. Alpine Associates Management Inc. lifted its stake in Discover Financial Services by 2.2% in the 3rd quarter. Alpine Associates Management Inc. now owns 878,164 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $123,198,000 after buying an additional 18,670 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Elser Financial Planning Inc acquired a new stake in Discover Financial Services in the 2nd quarter worth about $91,044,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.94% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Discover Financial Services Price Performance

NYSE:DFS opened at $179.07 on Friday. Discover Financial Services has a 52 week low of $85.19 and a 52 week high of $188.26. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $152.29 and its two-hundred day moving average is $137.63. The company has a market capitalization of $44.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.45, a P/E/G ratio of 1.10 and a beta of 1.41. 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 (NYSE:DFS) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 firm had revenue of $5.91 billion for 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 period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.59 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Discover Financial Services will post 13.34 EPS for the current year.

Discover Financial Services Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 5th. Investors 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 payout ratio is currently 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.