Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) Shares Purchased by Public Sector Pension Investment Board

Public Sector Pension Investment Board raised its holdings in Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) by 8.0% in the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 42,525 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,154 shares during the period. Public Sector Pension Investment Board’s holdings in Discover Financial Services were worth $5,563,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Gladstone Capital Management LLP lifted its holdings in shares of Discover Financial Services by 21.5% during the 2nd quarter. Gladstone Capital Management LLP now owns 235,923 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $30,861,000 after acquiring an additional 41,808 shares in the last quarter. DRW Securities LLC acquired a new position in shares of Discover Financial Services during the second quarter worth about $1,647,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Discover Financial Services by 73.7% in the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,958 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $282,000 after buying an additional 831 shares during the period. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Discover Financial Services by 36.4% in the second quarter. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC now owns 8,549 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,055,000 after buying an additional 2,281 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Discover Financial Services during the 2nd quarter valued at about $415,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.94% of the company’s stock.

Discover Financial Services Stock Performance

Shares of DFS opened at $135.92 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $34.09 billion, a PE ratio of 15.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 1.42. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $134.74 and its 200 day moving average price is $128.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28, a current ratio of 1.12 and a quick ratio of 1.04. Discover Financial Services has a 12-month low of $79.04 and a 12-month high of $147.61.

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

Discover Financial Services Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 5th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 22nd were paid a $0.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, August 22nd. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.06%. Discover Financial Services’s payout ratio is currently 31.93%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

DFS has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group upped 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 upped their target price on shares of Discover Financial Services from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, July 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Discover Financial Services from $132.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, July 19th. StockNews.com started coverage on shares of Discover Financial Services in a report on Wednesday. They issued a “hold” rating on the stock. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on Discover Financial Services from $115.00 to $119.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, July 19th. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $132.94.

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.