Baird Financial Group Inc. Has $3.05 Million Stock Holdings in Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS)

Baird Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) by 1.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 17,631 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 263 shares during the quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Discover Financial Services were worth $3,054,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of DFS. Norges Bank bought a new position in Discover Financial Services in the 4th quarter valued at about $724,720,000. C2P Capital Advisory Group LLC d.b.a. Prosperity Capital Advisors acquired a new stake in Discover Financial Services during the 4th quarter worth approximately $351,766,000. Invesco Ltd. boosted its stake in Discover Financial Services by 38.5% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,974,471 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $515,268,000 after purchasing an additional 826,287 shares during the period. Third Point LLC acquired a new position in Discover Financial Services in the 4th quarter valued at $110,867,000. Finally, Pentwater Capital Management LP bought a new position in Discover Financial Services during the 4th quarter worth $92,678,000. 86.94% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

DFS has been the topic of several research reports. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on shares of Discover Financial Services from $193.00 to $210.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “hold” rating and issued a $180.00 price target on shares of Discover Financial Services in a research report on Wednesday. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Discover Financial Services from $185.00 to $214.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. TD Securities dropped their price objective on Discover Financial Services from $188.00 to $184.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered Discover Financial Services from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $191.64.

Discover Financial Services Price Performance

DFS stock opened at $190.10 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $47.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.91, a P/E/G ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 1.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09, a current ratio of 1.09 and a quick ratio of 1.03. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $168.89 and a 200 day simple moving average of $176.68. Discover Financial Services has a 1 year low of $119.95 and a 1 year high of $205.76.

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

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.