Texas Permanent School Fund Corp Has $5.41 Million Holdings in Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS)

Texas Permanent School Fund Corp lessened its position in Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) by 20.0% in the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 41,343 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 10,346 shares during the period. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp’s holdings in Discover Financial Services were worth $5,408,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC bought a new position in shares of Discover Financial Services in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $279,000. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA bought a new position in shares of Discover Financial Services in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $121,113,000. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Discover Financial Services by 4.5% in the fourth quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 250,323 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $27,721,000 after purchasing an additional 10,858 shares in the last quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Discover Financial Services during the fourth quarter worth $231,000. Finally, Baader Bank Aktiengesellschaft bought a new stake in Discover Financial Services during the fourth quarter worth $446,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.94% of the company’s stock.

Discover Financial Services Price Performance

Shares of NYSE DFS opened at $129.34 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $32.44 billion, a PE ratio of 14.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 1.42. Discover Financial Services has a fifty-two week low of $79.04 and a fifty-two week high of $147.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a current ratio of 1.12. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $133.87 and a 200-day moving average of $127.91.

Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 17th. The financial services provider reported $6.06 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.06 by $3.00. The company had revenue of $4.54 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.18 billion. Discover Financial Services had a return on equity of 20.92% and a net margin of 12.88%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 17.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $3.54 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Discover Financial Services will post 12.87 earnings per share for the current year.

Discover Financial Services Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 5th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 22nd were given a dividend of $0.70 per share. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.16%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, August 22nd. Discover Financial Services’s payout ratio is 31.93%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently commented on DFS shares. StockNews.com started coverage on Discover Financial Services in a report on Monday. They set a “hold” rating on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on Discover Financial Services from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, July 8th. BTIG Research started coverage on Discover Financial Services in a report on Friday, June 7th. They set a “neutral” rating on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted 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. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lifted 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. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $132.94.

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; 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.