Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank Cuts Position in Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS)

Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank decreased its holdings in Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) by 0.5% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 242,060 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 1,213 shares during the quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank’s holdings in Discover Financial Services were worth $27,208,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Discover Financial Services in the fourth quarter valued at $340,672,000. Boston Partners grew its holdings in Discover Financial Services by 56.5% in the third quarter. Boston Partners now owns 8,597,250 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $743,663,000 after purchasing an additional 3,102,119 shares during the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP grew its holdings in Discover Financial Services by 489.5% in the first quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 1,999,341 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $220,307,000 after purchasing an additional 1,660,180 shares during the last quarter. Morgan Stanley grew its holdings in Discover Financial Services by 35.6% in the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 4,927,342 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $482,042,000 after purchasing an additional 1,293,260 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Palestra Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Discover Financial Services in the third quarter valued at $81,865,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.94% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have weighed in on DFS shares. Evercore ISI upped their target price on Discover Financial Services from $117.00 to $140.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a report on Thursday, February 22nd. Citigroup upped their target price on Discover Financial Services from $127.00 to $168.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 23rd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their price objective on Discover Financial Services from $140.00 to $111.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 19th. Wolfe Research reaffirmed a “peer perform” rating on shares of Discover Financial Services in a research note on Wednesday, February 21st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Discover Financial Services from $110.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Discover Financial Services currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $125.22.

Discover Financial Services Stock Performance

NYSE DFS opened at $119.93 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $30.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.66, a P/E/G ratio of 0.85 and a beta of 1.45. Discover Financial Services has a 1-year low of $79.04 and a 1-year high of $131.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.49, a current ratio of 1.13 and a quick ratio of 1.13. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $121.38 and its 200-day simple moving average is $105.53.

Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 17th. The financial services provider reported $1.10 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.03 by ($1.93). Discover Financial Services had a net margin of 14.30% and a return on equity of 22.24%. During the same period last year, the business earned $3.58 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that Discover Financial Services will post 11.2 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO John Greene sold 35,191 shares of Discover Financial Services stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $106.51, for a total value of $3,748,193.41. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 18,592 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,980,233.92. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.69% of the company’s stock.

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; 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.