Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. Buys 64,755 Shares of Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS)

Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) by 4.1% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 1,651,468 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 64,755 shares during the quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Discover Financial Services were worth $185,625,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Simon Quick Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Discover Financial Services by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Simon Quick Advisors LLC now owns 6,397 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $719,000 after acquiring an additional 109 shares in the last quarter. Czech National Bank lifted its position in Discover Financial Services by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 43,796 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $4,923,000 after buying an additional 110 shares during the period. Glenview Trust co boosted its holdings in shares of Discover Financial Services by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. Glenview Trust co now owns 24,363 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,111,000 after buying an additional 130 shares in the last quarter. Patron Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Discover Financial Services by 3.5% in the 3rd quarter. Patron Partners LLC now owns 4,117 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $357,000 after buying an additional 139 shares during the period. Finally, Mackenzie Financial Corp increased its stake in shares of Discover Financial Services by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 28,137 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,455,000 after acquiring an additional 146 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.94% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently commented on DFS shares. StockNews.com initiated coverage on shares of Discover Financial Services in a research note on Saturday, May 4th. They set a “hold” rating on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price objective on Discover Financial Services from $139.00 to $121.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 19th. Morgan Stanley raised Discover Financial Services from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $105.00 to $133.00 in a report on Thursday, February 8th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Discover Financial Services from $105.00 to $135.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. Finally, Barclays upped their price target on shares of Discover Financial Services from $120.00 to $123.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, April 19th. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Discover Financial Services presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $126.29.

Discover Financial Services Trading Up 0.4 %

Shares of DFS stock opened at $124.04 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $31.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.14, a P/E/G ratio of 0.72 and a beta of 1.43. The company has a current ratio of 1.12, a quick ratio of 1.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.50. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $124.50 and its 200 day moving average is $109.39. Discover Financial Services has a 12-month low of $79.04 and a 12-month high of $131.65.

Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 18th. The financial services provider reported $1.10 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.98 by ($1.88). Discover Financial Services had a net margin of 10.56% and a return on equity of 17.07%. The firm had revenue of $4.21 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.07 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $3.58 EPS. Research analysts expect that Discover Financial Services will post 11.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Discover Financial Services Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 6th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 23rd will be paid a $0.70 dividend. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.26%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 22nd. Discover Financial Services’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.