Franklin Resources Inc. Decreases Position in Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS)

Franklin Resources Inc. reduced its stake in Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) by 53.3% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 45,097 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 51,396 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc.’s holdings in Discover Financial Services were worth $6,643,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. National Pension Service increased its position in shares of Discover Financial Services by 14.8% during the third quarter. National Pension Service now owns 439,756 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $61,693,000 after purchasing an additional 56,814 shares in the last quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its position in Discover Financial Services by 10.5% during the third quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 115,487 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $16,202,000 after buying an additional 10,946 shares during the period. William B. Walkup & Associates Inc. acquired a new position in Discover Financial Services during the second quarter worth approximately $4,835,000. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC purchased a new stake in Discover Financial Services in the third quarter valued at approximately $2,415,000. Finally, Versor Investments LP boosted its holdings in shares of Discover Financial Services by 21.5% in the third quarter. Versor Investments LP now owns 75,963 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $10,657,000 after acquiring an additional 13,427 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.94% of the company’s stock.

Discover Financial Services Stock Performance

NYSE DFS opened at $173.16 on Monday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $167.32 and a 200 day moving average price of $145.26. The company has a market capitalization of $43.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.98, a PEG ratio of 1.13 and a beta of 1.45. Discover Financial Services has a 1-year low of $96.46 and a 1-year high of $188.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28, a current ratio of 1.08 and a quick ratio of 1.04.

Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 16th. The financial services provider reported $3.69 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.28 by $0.41. Discover Financial Services had a return on equity of 21.38% and a net margin of 13.78%. The business had revenue of $5.91 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.36 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.59 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that Discover Financial Services will post 13.43 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Discover Financial Services Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 5th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 21st were issued a $0.70 dividend. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.62%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, November 21st. Discover Financial Services’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 22.60%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have commented on DFS shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on shares of Discover Financial Services from $170.00 to $232.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on Discover Financial Services from $156.00 to $163.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. StockNews.com downgraded Discover Financial Services from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Discover Financial Services from $152.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on shares of Discover Financial Services from $148.00 to $161.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $149.57.

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.