Paloma Partners Management Co Invests $1.74 Million in Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS)

Paloma Partners Management Co acquired a new position in shares of Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 10,014 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,735,000.

A number of other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Pentwater Capital Management LP bought a new stake in shares of Discover Financial Services during the fourth quarter valued at about $92,678,000. TIG Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Discover Financial Services during the 4th quarter valued at about $18,877,000. California State Teachers Retirement System raised its position in shares of Discover Financial Services by 3.3% during the 4th quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 426,132 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $73,819,000 after buying an additional 13,681 shares in the last quarter. Lido Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Discover Financial Services by 5.8% in the 4th quarter. Lido Advisors LLC now owns 6,999 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,212,000 after acquiring an additional 383 shares during the period. Finally, Northern Trust Corp boosted its stake in Discover Financial Services by 21.3% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 2,716,709 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $470,616,000 after purchasing an additional 477,675 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.94% of the company's stock.

Discover Financial Services Stock Performance

DFS traded up $0.33 on Thursday, hitting $183.00. 1,257,383 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,619,711. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $168.76 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $174.71. The company has a current ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09. Discover Financial Services has a 52 week low of $119.95 and a 52 week high of $205.76. The firm has a market capitalization of $46.04 billion, a PE ratio of 11.47, a P/E/G ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 1.20.

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, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.33 by $0.92. Discover Financial Services had a return on equity of 26.18% and a net margin of 17.29%. The business had revenue of $4.25 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.25 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.10 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that Discover Financial Services will post 13.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on DFS shares. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Discover Financial Services from $186.00 to $209.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on Discover Financial Services from $193.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. TD Securities decreased their target price 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. 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 note on Tuesday, April 8th. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of Discover Financial Services from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $188.91.

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.