Retirement Systems of Alabama Sells 394 Shares of Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS)

Retirement Systems of Alabama cut its holdings in shares of Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 54,884 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 394 shares during the period. Retirement Systems of Alabama’s holdings in Discover Financial Services were worth $7,700,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its stake in shares of Discover Financial Services by 1.1% in the second quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 25,989 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,400,000 after purchasing an additional 282 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. raised its position in Discover Financial Services by 111.9% in the 2nd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 572 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $75,000 after buying an additional 302 shares during the last quarter. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Discover Financial Services during the 2nd quarter worth $380,000. KG&L Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Discover Financial Services by 23.7% in the 2nd quarter. KG&L Capital Management LLC now owns 2,737 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $358,000 after acquiring an additional 525 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Everhart Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Discover Financial Services by 31.3% in the second quarter. Everhart Financial Group Inc. now owns 2,013 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $263,000 after purchasing an additional 480 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.94% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently weighed in on DFS. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on shares of Discover Financial Services from $170.00 to $232.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. Evercore ISI upped their target price on Discover Financial Services from $156.00 to $163.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Discover Financial Services from $152.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th. StockNews.com cut Discover Financial Services from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Discover Financial Services from $135.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $149.57.

Discover Financial Services Stock Down 1.7 %

Discover Financial Services stock opened at $173.71 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $165.72 and a 200 day simple moving average of $144.40. The company has a current ratio of 1.08, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28. Discover Financial Services has a 1-year low of $96.46 and a 1-year high of $188.26. The firm has a market capitalization of $43.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.02, a P/E/G ratio of 1.13 and a beta of 1.45.

Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 16th. The financial services provider reported $3.69 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.28 by $0.41. The company had revenue of $5.91 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.36 billion. Discover Financial Services had a return on equity of 21.38% and a net margin of 13.78%. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.59 earnings per share. On average, analysts predict that Discover Financial Services will post 13.43 earnings per share for the current year.

Discover Financial Services Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 5th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 21st were issued a $0.70 dividend. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.61%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, November 21st. Discover Financial Services’s payout ratio is 22.60%.

About Discover Financial Services

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.