MetLife Investment Management LLC Sells 1,564 Shares of Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS)

MetLife Investment Management LLC reduced its position in Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) by 2.3% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 65,265 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 1,564 shares during the quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Discover Financial Services were worth $9,156,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Janus Henderson Group PLC raised its holdings in shares of Discover Financial Services by 61.0% during the 1st quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 62,529 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $8,197,000 after buying an additional 23,702 shares in the last quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Discover Financial Services by 74.0% in the first quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 7,976 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,046,000 after acquiring an additional 3,391 shares during the last quarter. Tidal Investments LLC boosted its stake in shares of Discover Financial Services by 122.6% in the 1st quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 12,094 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,585,000 after purchasing an additional 6,662 shares in the last quarter. Swedbank AB bought a new stake in shares of Discover Financial Services during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $13,322,000. Finally, PGGM Investments increased its position in Discover Financial Services by 3.7% during the 1st quarter. PGGM Investments now owns 37,340 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $4,895,000 after purchasing an additional 1,336 shares in the last quarter. 86.94% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Discover Financial Services Stock Down 0.0 %

Shares of NYSE DFS opened at $182.56 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28. The firm has a market cap of $45.84 billion, a PE ratio of 14.73, a P/E/G ratio of 1.17 and a beta of 1.41. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $155.86 and its 200 day simple moving average is $139.27. Discover Financial Services has a 12-month low of $85.37 and a 12-month high of $188.26.

Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 16th. The financial services provider reported $3.69 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.28 by $0.41. The business had revenue of $5.91 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.36 billion. Discover Financial Services had a return on equity of 21.38% and a net margin of 13.78%. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.59 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Discover Financial Services will post 13.34 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Discover Financial Services Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 5th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 21st will be paid a $0.70 dividend. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.53%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 21st. Discover Financial Services’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 22.60%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have weighed in on DFS. StockNews.com cut shares of Discover Financial Services from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Evercore ISI lifted their price target 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. Royal Bank of Canada raised 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 report on Friday, October 18th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Discover Financial Services from $152.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $138.81.

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.