Cornercap Investment Counsel Inc. Sells 1,334 Shares of Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS)

Cornercap Investment Counsel Inc. decreased its stake in shares of Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) by 17.4% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 6,328 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 1,334 shares during the period. Cornercap Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings in Discover Financial Services were worth $888,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Eagle Bluffs Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Discover Financial Services by 0.5% during the third quarter. Eagle Bluffs Wealth Management LLC now owns 14,501 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,034,000 after purchasing an additional 67 shares in the last quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in Discover Financial Services by 27.4% in the 3rd quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 316 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $44,000 after buying an additional 68 shares in the last quarter. Inlet Private Wealth LLC increased its holdings in shares of Discover Financial Services by 2.4% in the 3rd quarter. Inlet Private Wealth LLC now owns 3,185 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $447,000 after buying an additional 75 shares during the last quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. raised its position in shares of Discover Financial Services by 0.4% during the 3rd quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. now owns 17,664 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,478,000 after buying an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. Finally, J.Safra Asset Management Corp raised its position in shares of Discover Financial Services by 24.4% during the 2nd quarter. J.Safra Asset Management Corp now owns 387 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $51,000 after buying an additional 76 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.94% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently issued reports on DFS shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Discover Financial Services from $132.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, July 19th. Barclays increased their target price on Discover Financial Services from $135.00 to $137.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, July 19th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on Discover Financial Services from $148.00 to $161.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on Discover Financial Services from $115.00 to $119.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, July 19th. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of Discover Financial Services from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $138.81.

Discover Financial Services Stock Performance

DFS stock opened at $173.76 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28, a current ratio of 1.08 and a quick ratio of 1.04. Discover Financial Services has a 1 year low of $84.00 and a 1 year high of $188.26. The company has a market cap of $43.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.13 and a beta of 1.41. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $146.12 and its 200-day moving average price is $135.31.

Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 16th. The financial services provider reported $3.69 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.28 by $0.41. Discover Financial Services had a net margin of 13.78% and a return on equity of 21.38%. The firm had revenue of $5.91 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.36 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.59 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Discover Financial Services will post 13.22 earnings per share for the current 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 1.61%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 21st. Discover Financial Services’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 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.