Sculptor Capital LP Trims Holdings in Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS)

Sculptor Capital LP cut its stake in Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS - Free Report) by 23.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 570,772 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 176,426 shares during the period. Discover Financial Services makes up about 1.3% of Sculptor Capital LP's portfolio, making the stock its 13th biggest holding. Sculptor Capital LP owned approximately 0.23% of Discover Financial Services worth $98,875,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in DFS. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Discover Financial Services by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 31,045,208 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $5,377,961,000 after acquiring an additional 290,937 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC grew its position in Discover Financial Services by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 7,553,016 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,308,409,000 after acquiring an additional 59,154 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in Discover Financial Services by 2.7% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 6,240,451 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,082,826,000 after acquiring an additional 165,589 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Discover Financial Services during the 4th quarter worth $724,720,000. Finally, Invesco Ltd. grew its position in Discover Financial Services by 38.5% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,974,471 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $515,268,000 after acquiring an additional 826,287 shares during the last quarter. 86.94% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Discover Financial Services Stock Performance

Shares of Discover Financial Services stock traded down $2.73 during trading on Thursday, hitting $197.76. 31,289,322 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,792,154. 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 business has a 50-day simple moving average of $174.46 and a 200-day simple moving average of $179.26. Discover Financial Services has a 52-week low of $119.95 and a 52-week high of $207.42. The stock has a market capitalization of $49.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.39, a PEG ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 1.16.

Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The financial services provider reported $4.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.33 by $0.92. The business 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 quarter last year, the business earned $1.10 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that Discover Financial Services will post 13.88 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on DFS. Argus raised Discover Financial Services to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Discover Financial Services from $185.00 to $214.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. TD Securities decreased their price objective on Discover Financial Services from $188.00 to $184.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on Discover Financial Services from $193.00 to $210.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered Discover Financial Services from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Discover Financial Services presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $191.64.

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.