Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) Shares Purchased by Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC

Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC raised its stake in Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) by 11.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 101,383 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 10,519 shares during the period. Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC’s holdings in Discover Financial Services were worth $17,563,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Norges Bank bought a new position in Discover Financial Services during the 4th quarter worth $724,720,000. C2P Capital Advisory Group LLC d.b.a. Prosperity Capital Advisors acquired a new position in shares of Discover Financial Services during the fourth quarter valued at $351,766,000. Invesco Ltd. grew its position in shares of Discover Financial Services by 38.5% during the fourth 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. Pentwater Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in shares of Discover Financial Services in the 4th quarter worth about $92,678,000. Finally, Northern Trust Corp lifted its position in Discover Financial Services by 21.3% in 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 during the last quarter. 86.94% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Discover Financial Services Price Performance

NYSE DFS opened at $185.42 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $46.65 billion, a PE ratio of 11.62, a P/E/G ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 1.20. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $169.21 and a 200 day simple moving average of $174.41. 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.

Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 23rd. The financial services provider reported $4.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.33 by $0.92. The business had revenue of $4.25 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 company posted $1.10 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that Discover Financial Services will post 13.88 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Discover Financial Services from $185.00 to $214.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on shares of Discover Financial Services from $169.00 to $129.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on shares of Discover Financial Services from $193.00 to $210.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. UBS Group raised Discover Financial Services from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $150.00 to $239.00 in a report on Monday, January 13th. Finally, Barclays increased their price target on Discover Financial Services from $186.00 to $209.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $188.91.

Discover Financial Services 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.