Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. Boosts Holdings in Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS)

Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS - Free Report) by 4.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,651,468 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 64,755 shares during the quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. owned 0.66% of Discover Financial Services worth $185,625,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Simon Quick Advisors LLC raised its position in Discover Financial Services by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. Simon Quick Advisors LLC now owns 6,397 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $719,000 after acquiring an additional 109 shares in the last quarter. Czech National Bank raised its position in Discover Financial Services by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 43,796 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $4,923,000 after acquiring an additional 110 shares in the last quarter. Glenview Trust co raised its position in Discover Financial Services by 0.5% during the third quarter. Glenview Trust co now owns 24,363 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,111,000 after acquiring an additional 130 shares in the last quarter. Patron Partners LLC raised its position in Discover Financial Services by 3.5% during the third quarter. Patron Partners LLC now owns 4,117 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $357,000 after acquiring an additional 139 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mackenzie Financial Corp raised its position in Discover Financial Services by 0.5% during the third quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 28,137 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,455,000 after acquiring an additional 146 shares in the last quarter. 86.94% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Discover Financial Services Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:DFS traded down $0.64 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $123.40. The company's stock had a trading volume of 978,906 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,081,037. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.50, a quick ratio of 1.12 and a current ratio of 1.12. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $124.50 and its 200 day simple moving average is $109.39. Discover Financial Services has a 12-month low of $79.04 and a 12-month high of $131.65. The company has a market cap of $30.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.72 and a beta of 1.43.

Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 18th. The financial services provider reported $1.10 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $2.98 by ($1.88). Discover Financial Services had a net margin of 10.56% and a return on equity of 17.07%. The business had revenue of $4.21 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.07 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $3.58 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Discover Financial Services will post 11.86 EPS for the current year.

Discover Financial Services Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 6th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 23rd will be given a dividend of $0.70 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 22nd. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.27%. Discover Financial Services's dividend payout ratio is presently 31.93%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have issued reports on DFS. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on shares of Discover Financial Services from $137.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, April 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Discover Financial Services from $110.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their price objective on shares of Discover Financial Services from $140.00 to $111.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 19th. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price objective on shares of Discover Financial Services from $139.00 to $121.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 19th. Finally, StockNews.com began coverage on shares of Discover Financial Services in a report on Saturday, May 4th. They set a "hold" rating for the company. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Discover Financial Services presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $126.29.

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.