National Pension Service Sells 24,158 Shares of Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS)

National Pension Service cut its holdings in shares of Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) by 5.5% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 415,598 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 24,158 shares during the period. National Pension Service’s holdings in Discover Financial Services were worth $71,994,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also bought and sold shares of DFS. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. bought a new stake in Discover Financial Services during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $30,000. Grove Bank & Trust lifted its holdings in Discover Financial Services by 78.1% during the 4th quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 203 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 89 shares in the last quarter. Bfsg LLC acquired a new position in Discover Financial Services during the 4th quarter worth $35,000. Hantz Financial Services Inc. acquired a new position in Discover Financial Services during the 4th quarter worth $37,000. Finally, Venturi Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in Discover Financial Services by 27.4% during the 3rd quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 316 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $44,000 after buying an additional 68 shares in the last quarter. 86.94% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

DFS has been the topic of several research reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on Discover Financial Services from $170.00 to $232.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Discover Financial Services from $146.00 to $169.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. StockNews.com downgraded Discover Financial Services from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. UBS Group raised Discover Financial Services from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $150.00 to $239.00 in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Finally, Barclays raised their price objective on Discover Financial Services from $186.00 to $209.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $191.91.

Discover Financial Services Trading Up 0.5 %

Shares of DFS stock opened at $191.20 on Friday. Discover Financial Services has a 52-week low of $118.74 and a 52-week high of $205.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a current ratio of 1.09. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $188.37 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $164.75. The company has a market capitalization of $48.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.98, a PEG ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 1.46.

Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The financial services provider reported $5.11 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.13 by $1.98. Discover Financial Services had a net margin of 17.29% and a return on equity of 26.18%. Research analysts anticipate that Discover Financial Services will post 13.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Discover Financial Services Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 6th. Investors of record on Friday, May 23rd will be paid a dividend of $0.70 per share. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.46%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 23rd. Discover Financial Services’s payout ratio is currently 17.54%.

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; 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.