CIBC Asset Management Inc Raises Stock Holdings in Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS)

CIBC Asset Management Inc boosted its holdings in shares of Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) by 8.5% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 36,896 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,880 shares during the quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc’s holdings in Discover Financial Services were worth $5,176,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in DFS. Elser Financial Planning Inc purchased a new position in shares of Discover Financial Services in the second quarter valued at approximately $91,044,000. Magnetar Financial LLC purchased a new position in Discover Financial Services during the first quarter worth approximately $71,693,000. Samlyn Capital LLC lifted its position in Discover Financial Services by 368.0% during the second quarter. Samlyn Capital LLC now owns 646,691 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $84,594,000 after buying an additional 508,504 shares in the last quarter. National Bank of Canada FI lifted its position in Discover Financial Services by 430.5% during the first quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 443,707 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $54,752,000 after buying an additional 360,074 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Natixis lifted its position in Discover Financial Services by 1,041.9% during the first quarter. Natixis now owns 233,852 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $30,656,000 after buying an additional 213,373 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.94% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. StockNews.com cut Discover Financial Services from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on Discover Financial Services from $148.00 to $161.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Evercore ISI raised their target price 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. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price 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. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $138.81.

Discover Financial Services Trading Up 1.3 %

DFS opened at $176.07 on Monday. Discover Financial Services has a 12 month low of $84.03 and a 12 month high of $188.26. The stock has a market capitalization of $44.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.21, a PEG ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 1.41. 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 business has a fifty day moving average price of $147.90 and a 200 day moving average price of $136.07.

Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 16th. The financial services provider reported $3.69 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.36 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.59 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Discover Financial Services will post 13.23 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Discover Financial Services Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 5th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 21st will be issued a dividend of $0.70 per share. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.59%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 21st. Discover Financial Services’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 22.60%.

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.