Easterly Investment Partners LLC Buys 33,173 Shares of Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS)

Easterly Investment Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) by 2,106.2% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 34,748 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 33,173 shares during the quarter. Easterly Investment Partners LLC’s holdings in Discover Financial Services were worth $4,875,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Strategic Family Wealth Counselors L.L.C. purchased a new position in shares of Discover Financial Services in the 3rd quarter worth about $201,000. Philip James Wealth Mangement LLC bought a new stake in shares of Discover Financial Services during the third quarter valued at about $232,000. Olympiad Research LP increased its position in shares of Discover Financial Services by 105.6% in the third quarter. Olympiad Research LP now owns 12,220 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,714,000 after purchasing an additional 6,277 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Discover Financial Services by 3.3% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 294,975 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $41,382,000 after purchasing an additional 9,463 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Graypoint LLC boosted its stake in Discover Financial Services by 4.7% in the third quarter. Graypoint LLC now owns 2,352 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $330,000 after buying an additional 105 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.94% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on DFS shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Discover Financial Services from $132.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, July 19th. Wells Fargo & Company raised 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. Evercore ISI raised their price target on Discover Financial Services from $156.00 to $163.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on Discover Financial Services from $115.00 to $119.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, July 19th. Finally, Barclays raised their price target on Discover Financial Services from $135.00 to $137.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, July 19th. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $138.81.

Discover Financial Services Stock Performance

Shares of DFS stock traded up $0.22 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $175.22. 424,045 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,664,021. Discover Financial Services has a 12-month low of $82.15 and a 12-month 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. The company has a market cap of $43.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.12, a P/E/G ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 1.41. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $142.21 and a 200 day moving average price of $133.60.

Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 firm had revenue of $5.91 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.36 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.59 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Discover Financial Services will post 13.35 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Discover Financial Services Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 5th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 21st will be paid a dividend of $0.70 per share. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.60%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 21st. Discover Financial Services’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 22.60%.

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.