Barnett & Company Inc. Has $2.89 Million Position in Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS)

Barnett & Company Inc. lessened its stake in shares of Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) by 4.0% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 20,593 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 850 shares during the quarter. Discover Financial Services comprises 1.9% of Barnett & Company Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 17th biggest holding. Barnett & Company Inc.’s holdings in Discover Financial Services were worth $2,889,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. SG Americas Securities LLC raised its stake in shares of Discover Financial Services by 130.3% in the first quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 29,881 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,917,000 after purchasing an additional 16,905 shares during the last quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Discover Financial Services by 34.5% during the first quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 272,516 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $35,646,000 after purchasing an additional 69,896 shares in the last quarter. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS boosted its holdings in Discover Financial Services by 80.9% during the first quarter. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS now owns 99,049 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $12,984,000 after purchasing an additional 44,290 shares during the last quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. increased its stake in Discover Financial Services by 2.6% in the 1st quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. now owns 4,451 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $584,000 after buying an additional 114 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bleakley Financial Group LLC lifted its position in shares of Discover Financial Services by 14.7% during the 1st quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC now owns 5,680 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $745,000 after buying an additional 730 shares in the last quarter. 86.94% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Discover Financial Services Price Performance

Shares of DFS traded down $1.46 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $179.93. 253,344 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,673,619. The company has a market cap of $45.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.13 and a beta of 1.41. Discover Financial Services has a 1 year low of $82.68 and a 1 year high of $188.26. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $144.54 and a 200 day moving average price of $134.68. The company has a current ratio of 1.08, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28.

Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 16th. The financial services provider reported $3.69 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 business had revenue of $5.91 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.36 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.59 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Discover Financial Services will post 13.22 earnings per share for the current year.

Discover Financial Services Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 5th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 21st will be paid a $0.70 dividend. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.56%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 21st. Discover Financial Services’s dividend payout ratio is currently 22.60%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently commented on DFS shares. Wells Fargo & Company lifted 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. StockNews.com cut shares of Discover Financial Services from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on shares of Discover Financial Services from $115.00 to $119.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, July 19th. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on Discover Financial Services from $156.00 to $163.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Discover Financial Services from $132.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, July 19th. Thirteen equities research 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 company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $138.81.

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.