Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio Sells 10,230 Shares of Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS)

Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio trimmed its position in shares of Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) by 8.1% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 115,635 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 10,230 shares during the period. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio’s holdings in Discover Financial Services were worth $15,159,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. DAVENPORT & Co LLC increased its position in shares of Discover Financial Services by 335.4% during the 4th quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC now owns 63,796 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $7,171,000 after purchasing an additional 49,145 shares during the last quarter. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC raised its position in Discover Financial Services by 135.1% in the 1st quarter. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC now owns 7,793 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,022,000 after purchasing an additional 4,478 shares during the period. D.A. Davidson & CO. lifted its stake in Discover Financial Services by 238.7% in the fourth quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 14,783 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,662,000 after purchasing an additional 10,418 shares during the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC boosted its position in shares of Discover Financial Services by 1.8% during the fourth quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 916,367 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $103,000,000 after buying an additional 16,532 shares during the period. Finally, Principal Securities Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Discover Financial Services during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,073,000. 86.94% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Discover Financial Services Stock Up 1.5 %

Shares of DFS traded up $2.12 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $144.68. 38,482 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,806,547. The company has a current ratio of 1.07, a quick ratio of 1.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.50. The stock has a market capitalization of $36.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 1.44. Discover Financial Services has a 1 year low of $79.04 and a 1 year high of $147.61. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $129.31 and its 200-day moving average is $122.65.

Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 17th. The financial services provider reported $6.06 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.06 by $3.00. The business had revenue of $4.54 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.18 billion. Discover Financial Services had a return on equity of 20.53% and a net margin of 12.88%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 17.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $3.54 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Discover Financial Services will post 12.23 earnings per share for the current year.

Discover Financial Services Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 5th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 22nd will be issued a $0.70 dividend. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.94%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 22nd. Discover Financial Services’s payout ratio is currently 31.93%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on DFS shares. StockNews.com initiated coverage on Discover Financial Services in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. They issued a “hold” rating on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on shares of Discover Financial Services from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, July 8th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on shares of Discover Financial Services from $140.00 to $148.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Friday, July 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Discover Financial Services from $132.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, July 19th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Discover Financial Services from $105.00 to $135.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $131.33.

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; 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.