Patton Fund Management Inc. Makes New Investment in Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS)

Patton Fund Management Inc. bought a new position in Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 27,514 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $3,860,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in DFS. Elser Financial Planning Inc purchased a new stake in Discover Financial Services in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $91,044,000. Magnetar Financial LLC purchased a new stake in Discover Financial Services in the 1st quarter worth approximately $71,693,000. Samlyn Capital LLC lifted its position in Discover Financial Services by 368.0% in the 2nd quarter. Samlyn Capital LLC now owns 646,691 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $84,594,000 after buying an additional 508,504 shares in the last quarter. M&G Plc purchased a new stake in Discover Financial Services in the 1st quarter worth approximately $62,829,000. Finally, National Bank of Canada FI lifted its position in Discover Financial Services by 430.5% in the 1st quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 443,707 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $54,752,000 after buying an additional 360,074 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.94% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have issued reports on DFS. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price 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. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on shares of Discover Financial Services from $140.00 to $148.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, July 19th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on shares of Discover Financial Services from $115.00 to $119.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, July 19th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on shares of Discover Financial Services from $145.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 9th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on shares of Discover Financial Services from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, July 8th. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $133.88.

Discover Financial Services Stock Performance

NYSE DFS traded up $2.13 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $149.66. The company had a trading volume of 561,506 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,624,233. The company has a quick ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 1.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28. The stock has a market cap of $37.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.01, a P/E/G ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 1.41. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $136.12 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $130.75. Discover Financial Services has a fifty-two week low of $79.04 and a fifty-two week high of $152.90.

Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) last issued its earnings results 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. Discover Financial Services had a net margin of 12.88% and a return on equity of 20.92%. The business had revenue of $5.91 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.36 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.59 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Discover Financial Services will post 13.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Discover Financial Services Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 5th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 21st will be issued a dividend of $0.70 per share. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.87%. Discover Financial Services’s dividend payout ratio is currently 31.93%.

Discover Financial Services 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.