Aequim Alternative Investments LP Buys 25,597 Shares of Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS)

Aequim Alternative Investments LP increased its stake in shares of Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) by 69.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 62,478 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 25,597 shares during the quarter. Aequim Alternative Investments LP’s holdings in Discover Financial Services were worth $10,823,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of DFS. Gallagher Fiduciary Advisors LLC boosted its position in Discover Financial Services by 17.0% in the fourth quarter. Gallagher Fiduciary Advisors LLC now owns 2,447 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $424,000 after purchasing an additional 356 shares during the last quarter. AQR Arbitrage LLC raised its stake in shares of Discover Financial Services by 56.7% during the 4th quarter. AQR Arbitrage LLC now owns 254,569 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $44,099,000 after purchasing an additional 92,098 shares during the period. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV boosted its holdings in shares of Discover Financial Services by 25.8% in the 4th quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 26,977 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $4,673,000 after buying an additional 5,525 shares during the last quarter. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. grew its position in Discover Financial Services by 352.8% during the fourth quarter. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. now owns 240 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $42,000 after buying an additional 187 shares during the period. Finally, Third Point LLC purchased a new stake in Discover Financial Services during the fourth quarter worth about $110,867,000. Institutional investors own 86.94% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

DFS has been the topic of a number of research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on shares of Discover Financial Services from $169.00 to $129.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Argus upgraded Discover Financial Services to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, April 25th. TD Securities dropped their price target on Discover Financial Services from $188.00 to $184.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Discover Financial Services from $185.00 to $214.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Discover Financial Services from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Discover Financial Services presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $188.91.

Discover Financial Services Trading Up 4.2 %

Shares of DFS opened at $190.25 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $168.82 and its 200-day moving average price is $175.01. The company has a quick ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09. Discover Financial Services has a twelve month low of $119.95 and a twelve month high of $205.76. The stock has a market cap of $47.87 billion, a PE ratio of 11.92, a P/E/G ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 1.20.

Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 23rd. The financial services provider reported $4.25 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.33 by $0.92. The company had revenue of $4.25 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.25 billion. Discover Financial Services had a return on equity of 26.18% and a net margin of 17.29%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.10 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Discover Financial Services will post 13.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.