Mizuho Securities USA LLC Buys 245,829 Shares of Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS)

Mizuho Securities USA LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) by 1,272.0% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 265,155 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 245,829 shares during the quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC’s holdings in Discover Financial Services were worth $37,199,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of DFS. Cooke & Bieler LP increased its holdings in shares of Discover Financial Services by 5.1% during the second quarter. Cooke & Bieler LP now owns 1,281,950 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $167,692,000 after purchasing an additional 62,595 shares during the period. Hsbc Holdings PLC grew its position in Discover Financial Services by 6.7% in the second quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 1,181,333 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $154,064,000 after acquiring an additional 73,902 shares during the last quarter. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd lifted its holdings in shares of Discover Financial Services by 0.5% in the second quarter. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd now owns 1,162,495 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $152,066,000 after acquiring an additional 6,042 shares during the last quarter. Elser Financial Planning Inc bought a new stake in shares of Discover Financial Services during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $91,044,000. Finally, Samlyn Capital LLC increased its position in Discover Financial Services by 368.0% during the 2nd quarter. Samlyn Capital LLC now owns 646,691 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $84,594,000 after purchasing an additional 508,504 shares in the last quarter. 86.94% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Discover Financial Services Trading Up 1.3 %

Shares of DFS opened at $176.02 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 $84.03 and a 1-year high of $188.26. The company has a market capitalization of $44.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.21, a P/E/G ratio of 1.13 and a beta of 1.41. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $147.90 and its 200 day simple moving average is $135.91.

Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 16th. The financial services provider reported $3.69 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 company had revenue of $5.91 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.36 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.59 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Discover Financial Services will post 13.22 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 dividend of $0.70 per share. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis 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%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

DFS has been the topic of several research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted 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. Wells Fargo & Company raised 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 note on Friday, October 18th. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on shares of 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. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on Discover Financial Services from $148.00 to $161.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, October 18th. Finally, StockNews.com cut Discover Financial Services from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $138.81.

Discover Financial Services 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.