Foster & Motley Inc. Sells 5,999 Shares of Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS)

Foster & Motley Inc. lessened its position in shares of Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) by 18.1% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 27,081 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 5,999 shares during the quarter. Foster & Motley Inc.’s holdings in Discover Financial Services were worth $3,543,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. J.Safra Asset Management Corp increased its stake 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 worth $51,000 after buying an additional 76 shares in the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. raised its position in Discover Financial Services by 0.9% during the second quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 9,139 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,195,000 after purchasing an additional 84 shares during the period. Ballentine Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Discover Financial Services by 3.1% in the 1st quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 2,888 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $379,000 after purchasing an additional 86 shares during the last quarter. Optas LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Discover Financial Services by 4.3% in the 2nd quarter. Optas LLC now owns 2,147 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $281,000 after purchasing an additional 89 shares during the period. Finally, Conning Inc. increased its position in shares of Discover Financial Services by 4.1% during the 2nd quarter. Conning Inc. now owns 2,371 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $310,000 after purchasing an additional 93 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.94% of the company’s stock.

Discover Financial Services Stock Down 0.3 %

Shares of NYSE DFS traded down $0.34 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $134.74. 51,296 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,696,238. Discover Financial Services has a 12 month low of $79.04 and a 12 month high of $147.61. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $133.92 and a 200-day moving average price of $127.51. 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 company has a market cap of $33.79 billion, a PE ratio of 15.40, a PEG ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 1.43.

Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 17th. The financial services provider reported $6.06 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.06 by $3.00. Discover Financial Services had a return on equity of 20.92% and a net margin of 12.88%. The firm had revenue of $4.54 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.18 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $3.54 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 17.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Discover Financial Services will post 12.75 EPS for the current year.

Discover Financial Services Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 5th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 22nd will be issued a dividend of $0.70 per share. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.08%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 22nd. Discover Financial Services’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 31.93%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently commented on DFS shares. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Discover Financial Services from $135.00 to $137.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, July 19th. StockNews.com initiated coverage on Discover Financial Services in a report on Sunday. They set a “hold” rating for the company. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on Discover Financial Services from $145.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 9th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on Discover Financial Services from $115.00 to $119.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, July 19th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on shares of Discover Financial Services from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $132.94.

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; 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.