Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) Shares Sold by Thrivent Financial for Lutherans

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans lowered its position in Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) by 0.1% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 604,475 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 489 shares during the quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans owned approximately 0.24% of Discover Financial Services worth $84,802,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Eagle Bluffs Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in Discover Financial Services by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. Eagle Bluffs Wealth Management LLC now owns 14,501 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,034,000 after purchasing an additional 67 shares during the period. Venturi Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Discover Financial Services by 27.4% during the third quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 316 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $44,000 after buying an additional 68 shares during the period. Inlet Private Wealth LLC raised its stake in shares of Discover Financial Services by 2.4% during the third quarter. Inlet Private Wealth LLC now owns 3,185 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $447,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares during the last quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. lifted its holdings in shares of Discover Financial Services by 0.4% during the third quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. now owns 17,664 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,478,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares during the period. Finally, J.Safra Asset Management Corp grew its position in Discover Financial Services by 24.4% in the 2nd quarter. J.Safra Asset Management Corp now owns 387 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $51,000 after buying an additional 76 shares during the last quarter. 86.94% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Discover Financial Services Stock Up 1.3 %

DFS stock opened at $176.07 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 1.08, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $147.90 and a 200-day simple moving average of $136.07. The company has a market capitalization of $44.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.21, a PEG ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 1.41. Discover Financial Services has a twelve month low of $84.03 and a twelve month high of $188.26.

Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 16th. The financial services provider reported $3.69 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.28 by $0.41. Discover Financial Services had a net margin of 13.78% and a return on equity of 21.38%. The company had revenue of $5.91 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.36 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.59 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Discover Financial Services will post 13.23 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. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 1.59%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 21st. Discover Financial Services’s dividend payout ratio is currently 22.60%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently commented on DFS. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on shares of 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 raised 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. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective 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. Finally, StockNews.com lowered Discover Financial Services from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a 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. According to MarketBeat, Discover Financial Services currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target 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.