Retirement Systems of Alabama Has $7.70 Million Position in Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS)

Retirement Systems of Alabama trimmed its stake in shares of Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) by 0.7% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing 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 quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama’s holdings in Discover Financial Services were worth $7,700,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. National Pension Service increased its holdings in shares of Discover Financial Services by 14.8% during the third quarter. National Pension Service now owns 439,756 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $61,693,000 after buying an additional 56,814 shares in the last quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in Discover Financial Services by 10.5% in the 3rd quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 115,487 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $16,202,000 after purchasing an additional 10,946 shares in the last quarter. William B. Walkup & Associates Inc. bought a new position in Discover Financial Services in the second quarter valued at about $4,835,000. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Discover Financial Services during the third quarter valued at about $2,415,000. Finally, Versor Investments LP grew its holdings in shares of Discover Financial Services by 21.5% during the third quarter. Versor Investments LP now owns 75,963 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $10,657,000 after purchasing an additional 13,427 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.94% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on DFS shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on shares of Discover Financial Services from $170.00 to $232.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Discover Financial Services from $152.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, October 18th. Evercore ISI increased their price objective 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. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on Discover Financial Services from $148.00 to $161.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, October 18th. Finally, StockNews.com cut Discover Financial Services from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Discover Financial Services has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $149.57.

Discover Financial Services Stock Down 1.7 %

Discover Financial Services stock opened at $173.71 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $43.61 billion, a PE ratio of 14.02, a PEG ratio of 1.13 and a beta of 1.45. Discover Financial Services has a 12-month low of $96.46 and a 12-month high of $188.26. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $165.72 and its 200 day moving average is $144.40. The company has a quick ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28.

Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 firm had revenue of $5.91 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.36 billion. Discover Financial Services had a net margin of 13.78% and a return on equity of 21.38%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.59 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Discover Financial Services will post 13.43 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Discover Financial Services Dividend Announcement

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

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; 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.