Freestone Grove Partners LP Takes $38.73 Million Position in Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS)

Freestone Grove Partners LP purchased a new position in shares of Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm purchased 223,547 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $38,725,000. Freestone Grove Partners LP owned about 0.09% of Discover Financial Services at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in DFS. Hemington Wealth Management boosted its position in Discover Financial Services by 11.0% in the fourth quarter. Hemington Wealth Management now owns 503 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $87,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. Rehmann Capital Advisory Group increased its holdings in Discover Financial Services by 1.0% during the fourth 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. boosted its stake in Discover Financial Services by 0.6% in the fourth 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 shares of Discover Financial Services by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. now owns 6,158 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,067,000 after acquiring an additional 57 shares during the period. Finally, Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. increased its stake in shares of Discover Financial Services by 4.2% during the 4th quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 1,411 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $244,000 after purchasing an additional 57 shares during the last quarter. 86.94% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Discover Financial Services Trading Down 1.0 %

NYSE:DFS traded down $1.88 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $188.36. The company's stock had a trading volume of 511,637 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,619,951. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a current ratio of 1.09. The firm has a market capitalization of $47.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.80, a PEG ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 1.16. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $168.82 and a 200-day simple moving average of $175.66. Discover Financial Services has a 1 year low of $119.95 and a 1 year high of $205.76.

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on DFS. StockNews.com cut Discover Financial Services from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. TD Securities lowered their target price on shares of Discover Financial Services from $188.00 to $184.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on Discover Financial Services from $169.00 to $129.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Argus upgraded Discover Financial Services to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Finally, Barclays raised their target price on Discover Financial Services from $186.00 to $209.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $188.91.

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; 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.