Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) Shares Bought by Mizuho Securities USA LLC

Mizuho Securities USA LLC boosted its holdings in Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) by 1,272.0% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 265,155 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 245,829 shares during the period. Mizuho Securities USA LLC owned about 0.11% of Discover Financial Services worth $37,199,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Discover Financial Services during the second quarter worth about $26,000. DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Discover Financial Services by 506.5% in the 3rd quarter. DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. now owns 188 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 157 shares in the last quarter. Y.D. More Investments Ltd boosted its holdings in Discover Financial Services by 147.8% during the second quarter. Y.D. More Investments Ltd now owns 223 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 133 shares in the last quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. grew its position in Discover Financial Services by 72.5% in the second quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 226 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 95 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Larson Financial Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Discover Financial Services by 348.2% in the 2nd quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 251 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 195 shares during the period. 86.94% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on DFS shares. Barclays lifted their price target on Discover Financial Services from $135.00 to $137.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, July 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Discover Financial Services from $132.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, July 19th. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on Discover Financial Services from $156.00 to $163.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on shares of Discover Financial Services from $115.00 to $119.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, July 19th. 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 report on Friday, October 18th. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Discover Financial Services currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $138.81.

Discover Financial Services Stock Up 1.3 %

Shares of NYSE DFS opened at $176.02 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.08, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28. The firm has a market capitalization of $44.19 billion, a PE ratio of 14.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.13 and a beta of 1.41. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $147.90 and its 200-day moving average is $135.91. Discover Financial Services has a 1 year low of $84.03 and a 1 year high of $188.26.

Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 16th. The financial services provider reported $3.69 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.28 by $0.41. The company had revenue of $5.91 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.36 billion. Discover Financial Services had a net margin of 13.78% and a return on equity of 21.38%. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.59 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that Discover Financial Services will post 13.22 EPS for the current year.

Discover Financial Services Dividend Announcement

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