Pettee Investors Inc. Has $303,000 Holdings in Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS)

Pettee Investors Inc. lessened its holdings in Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) by 34.1% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,320 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 1,200 shares during the period. Pettee Investors Inc.’s holdings in Discover Financial Services were worth $303,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of DFS. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. lifted its position in Discover Financial Services by 34.7% during the 4th quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. now owns 9,755 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,097,000 after acquiring an additional 2,513 shares during the last quarter. M&T Bank Corp lifted its position in Discover Financial Services by 7.7% during the 4th quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 34,158 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,839,000 after acquiring an additional 2,442 shares during the last quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC lifted its position in Discover Financial Services by 8.1% during the 4th quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC now owns 13,839 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,556,000 after acquiring an additional 1,041 shares during the last quarter. MeadowBrook Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Discover Financial Services during the 4th quarter worth $31,000. Finally, Lincoln National Corp lifted its position in Discover Financial Services by 16.8% during the 4th quarter. Lincoln National Corp now owns 10,338 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,162,000 after acquiring an additional 1,485 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.94% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

DFS has been the topic of several research reports. StockNews.com initiated coverage on shares of Discover Financial Services in a report on Sunday. They set a “hold” rating on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on shares of Discover Financial Services from $145.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Discover Financial Services from $132.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, July 19th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on shares of Discover Financial Services from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, July 8th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on shares of Discover Financial Services from $115.00 to $119.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, July 19th. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $132.94.

Discover Financial Services Price Performance

Shares of Discover Financial Services stock opened at $139.33 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.12, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28. The stock has a market capitalization of $34.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.75, a P/E/G ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 1.43. Discover Financial Services has a 1-year low of $79.04 and a 1-year high of $147.61. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $133.73 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $127.45.

Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 17th. The financial services provider reported $6.06 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.06 by $3.00. The firm had revenue of $4.54 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.18 billion. Discover Financial Services had a net margin of 12.88% and a return on equity of 20.92%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 17.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $3.54 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that Discover Financial Services will post 12.75 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Discover Financial Services Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 5th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 22nd will be given a dividend of $0.70 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 22nd. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.01%. Discover Financial Services’s payout ratio is 31.93%.

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; private student loans, 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.