Bailard Inc. Has $1.08 Million Holdings in Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS)

Bailard Inc. cut its holdings in Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) by 2.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 9,641 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 218 shares during the quarter. Bailard Inc.’s holdings in Discover Financial Services were worth $1,084,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. AE Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Discover Financial Services by 10.6% during the third quarter. AE Wealth Management LLC now owns 12,163 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,054,000 after purchasing an additional 1,165 shares in the last quarter. Coronation Fund Managers Ltd. raised its position in shares of Discover Financial Services by 37.8% during the third quarter. Coronation Fund Managers Ltd. now owns 86,814 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $7,521,000 after acquiring an additional 23,825 shares during the last quarter. Czech National Bank raised its position in shares of Discover Financial Services by 45.3% during the third quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 43,686 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,785,000 after acquiring an additional 13,623 shares during the last quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB raised its position in shares of Discover Financial Services by 3.5% during the third quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 97,166 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $8,417,000 after acquiring an additional 3,249 shares during the last quarter. Finally, MCF Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Discover Financial Services by 27.6% during the third quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 3,757 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $325,000 after acquiring an additional 812 shares during the last quarter. 86.94% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

DFS has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Discover Financial Services from $105.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their target price on Discover Financial Services from $140.00 to $111.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 19th. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on Discover Financial Services from $117.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a report on Thursday, February 22nd. Wolfe Research restated a “peer perform” rating on shares of Discover Financial Services in a report on Wednesday, February 21st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on Discover Financial Services from $137.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, April 19th. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Discover Financial Services presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $126.29.

Discover Financial Services Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:DFS traded up $1.66 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $127.33. 321,025 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,190,916. The company has a quick ratio of 1.13, a current ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.49. Discover Financial Services has a 12 month low of $79.04 and a 12 month high of $131.65. The firm has a market capitalization of $31.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.78 and a beta of 1.45. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $123.45 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $107.01.

Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 18th. The financial services provider reported $1.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.98 by ($1.88). Discover Financial Services had a return on equity of 16.74% and a net margin of 10.56%. The firm had revenue of $4.21 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.07 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $3.58 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that Discover Financial Services will post 11.39 earnings per share for the current year.

Discover Financial Services Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 6th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 23rd will be issued a dividend of $0.70 per share. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.20%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 22nd. Discover Financial Services’s dividend payout ratio is presently 31.93%.

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; private student loans, 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.