Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado Decreases Stake in Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS)

Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado decreased its position in shares of Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) by 4.8% during the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 27,211 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 1,380 shares during the quarter. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado’s holdings in Discover Financial Services were worth $3,567,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of DFS. Partnership Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Discover Financial Services during the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Riverview Trust Co acquired a new position in Discover Financial Services in the first quarter valued at approximately $34,000. MeadowBrook Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Discover Financial Services in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Discover Financial Services in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Finally, J.Safra Asset Management Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Discover Financial Services by 76.7% in the first quarter. J.Safra Asset Management Corp now owns 311 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $41,000 after acquiring an additional 135 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.94% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Discover Financial Services from $132.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, July 19th. StockNews.com assumed coverage on Discover Financial Services in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. They set a “hold” rating for the company. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on Discover Financial Services from $145.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 9th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on Discover Financial Services from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, July 8th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on Discover Financial Services from $115.00 to $119.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, July 19th. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Discover Financial Services presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $131.33.

Discover Financial Services Stock Up 0.1 %

DFS traded up $0.16 on Monday, reaching $142.45. 604,993 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,816,193. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $128.95 and its 200-day moving average price is $122.43. Discover Financial Services has a 52-week low of $79.04 and a 52-week high of $147.61. The company has a market cap of $35.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.24, a PEG ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 1.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.50, a current ratio of 1.07 and a quick ratio of 1.12.

Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 17th. The financial services provider reported $6.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.06 by $3.00. The firm had revenue of $4.54 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.18 billion. Discover Financial Services had a net margin of 12.88% and a return on equity of 20.53%. The company’s revenue was up 17.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $3.54 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Discover Financial Services will post 12.23 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Discover Financial Services Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 5th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 22nd will be given a dividend of $0.70 per share. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.97%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 22nd. Discover Financial Services’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 31.93%.

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; 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.