Alyeska Investment Group L.P. Raises Holdings in Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS)

Alyeska Investment Group L.P. grew its position in shares of Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS - Free Report) by 70.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 412,821 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 170,304 shares during the period. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. owned approximately 0.16% of Discover Financial Services worth $71,513,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in DFS. Hemington Wealth Management grew its holdings in shares of Discover Financial Services by 11.0% in the fourth quarter. Hemington Wealth Management now owns 503 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $87,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. Rehmann Capital Advisory Group increased its holdings in shares of Discover Financial Services by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Rehmann Capital Advisory Group now owns 5,152 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $892,000 after buying an additional 51 shares during the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its holdings in shares of Discover Financial Services by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 9,248 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,602,000 after acquiring an additional 56 shares during the last quarter. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. grew its position in Discover Financial Services by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. now owns 6,158 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,067,000 after acquiring an additional 57 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. increased its stake in Discover Financial Services by 4.2% during the fourth quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 1,411 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $244,000 after acquiring an additional 57 shares during the last quarter. 86.94% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently issued reports on DFS shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on Discover Financial Services from $169.00 to $129.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. TD Securities dropped their price target on shares of Discover Financial Services from $188.00 to $184.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Discover Financial Services from $185.00 to $214.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Barclays upped their price objective on Discover Financial Services from $186.00 to $209.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, StockNews.com cut Discover Financial Services from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $188.91.

Discover Financial Services Stock Performance

Discover Financial Services stock traded down $2.04 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $188.20. 1,248,290 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,624,607. The firm has a market cap of $47.36 billion, a PE ratio of 11.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 1.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a current ratio of 1.09. Discover Financial Services has a twelve month low of $119.95 and a twelve month high of $205.76. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $168.82 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $175.66.

Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The financial services provider reported $4.25 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.33 by $0.92. The company had revenue of $4.25 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.25 billion. Discover Financial Services had a net margin of 17.29% and a return on equity of 26.18%. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.10 EPS. Equities analysts predict that Discover Financial Services will post 13.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.