Freedom Together Foundation Reduces Stock Position in Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS)

Freedom Together Foundation trimmed its stake in shares of Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) by 80.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 7,629 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 32,000 shares during the period. Discover Financial Services makes up 0.1% of Freedom Together Foundation’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 16th largest holding. Freedom Together Foundation’s holdings in Discover Financial Services were worth $1,322,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Empyrean Capital Partners LP purchased a new stake in Discover Financial Services during the 4th quarter valued at $100,993,000. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc increased its position in Discover Financial Services by 40.0% during the fourth quarter. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc now owns 573,340 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $99,320,000 after acquiring an additional 163,783 shares during the last quarter. Ethic Inc. lifted its holdings in Discover Financial Services by 41.7% in the fourth quarter. Ethic Inc. now owns 22,826 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,954,000 after acquiring an additional 6,723 shares during the period. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main boosted its position in Discover Financial Services by 57.8% in the fourth quarter. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main now owns 11,306 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,959,000 after purchasing an additional 4,140 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Driehaus Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Discover Financial Services in the fourth quarter worth about $858,000. Institutional investors own 86.94% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on DFS. Argus upgraded shares of Discover Financial Services to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, April 25th. TD Securities decreased their price target on shares of Discover Financial Services from $188.00 to $184.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted 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 research report on Friday, January 24th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price 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. Finally, UBS Group raised Discover Financial Services from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $150.00 to $239.00 in a report on Monday, January 13th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $191.64.

Discover Financial Services Stock Down 1.0 %

Shares of DFS opened at $190.10 on Friday. Discover Financial Services has a 12-month low of $119.95 and a 12-month high of $205.76. The company has a current ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09. The company has a market capitalization of $47.84 billion, a PE ratio of 11.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 1.16. The business’s 50 day moving average is $168.89 and its 200 day moving average is $176.46.

Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The financial services provider reported $4.25 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.33 by $0.92. The firm 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 in the previous year, the firm earned $1.10 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Discover Financial Services will post 13.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.