Integral Investment Advisors Inc. Boosts Holdings in Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS)

Integral Investment Advisors Inc. boosted its position in shares of Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) by 9.9% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 4,558 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 409 shares during the quarter. Integral Investment Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Discover Financial Services were worth $512,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Penserra Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Discover Financial Services by 7.2% during the fourth quarter. Penserra Capital Management LLC now owns 1,451 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $141,000 after purchasing an additional 97 shares during the period. Toroso Investments LLC raised its holdings in shares of Discover Financial Services by 3.1% during the first quarter. Toroso Investments LLC now owns 3,299 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $364,000 after purchasing an additional 98 shares during the last quarter. TIAA FSB lifted its position in Discover Financial Services by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. TIAA FSB now owns 8,532 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $835,000 after purchasing an additional 102 shares during the period. Simon Quick Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Discover Financial Services by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. Simon Quick Advisors LLC now owns 6,397 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $719,000 after purchasing an additional 109 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Czech National Bank grew its position in Discover Financial Services by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 43,796 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $4,923,000 after purchasing an additional 110 shares during the period. 86.94% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Discover Financial Services Price Performance

NYSE DFS traded up $4.31 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $124.20. 1,800,058 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,251,964. The company has a market capitalization of $31.12 billion, a PE ratio of 11.07, a PEG ratio of 0.85 and a beta of 1.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.49, a current ratio of 1.13 and a quick ratio of 1.13. Discover Financial Services has a 52-week low of $79.04 and a 52-week high of $131.65. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $121.38 and its 200-day moving average is $105.53.

Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 17th. The financial services provider reported $1.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.98 by ($1.88). Discover Financial Services had a net margin of 14.30% and a return on equity of 22.24%. The company had revenue of $4.21 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.07 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $3.58 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that Discover Financial Services will post 11.2 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

DFS has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. StockNews.com assumed coverage on Discover Financial Services in a research note on Thursday. They issued a “hold” rating on the stock. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price target on shares of Discover Financial Services from $116.00 to $104.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 22nd. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Discover Financial Services from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $105.00 to $133.00 in a research report on Thursday, February 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Discover Financial Services from $110.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and issued a $140.00 price objective (up from $117.00) on shares of Discover Financial Services in a report on Wednesday, February 21st. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $125.22.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO John Greene sold 35,191 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $106.51, for a total value of $3,748,193.41. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now 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 SEC, which is accessible through this link. 0.69% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.