State of Alaska Department of Revenue Has $4.60 Million Stock Holdings in Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS)

State of Alaska Department of Revenue trimmed its stake in shares of Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) by 30.3% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 35,062 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 15,278 shares during the quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue’s holdings in Discover Financial Services were worth $4,595,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of DFS. Boston Partners lifted its holdings in Discover Financial Services by 5.5% during the 4th quarter. Boston Partners now owns 9,072,829 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,017,046,000 after purchasing an additional 475,579 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in Discover Financial Services by 6.3% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,655,558 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $410,891,000 after buying an additional 217,475 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Discover Financial Services during the fourth quarter worth $322,199,000. Brave Warrior Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Discover Financial Services by 10.6% in the fourth quarter. Brave Warrior Advisors LLC now owns 2,633,167 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $295,968,000 after acquiring an additional 251,909 shares during the period. Finally, Envestnet Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Discover Financial Services by 60.9% in the fourth quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,122,824 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $238,605,000 after acquiring an additional 803,738 shares in the last quarter. 86.94% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

DFS has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on shares of Discover Financial Services from $137.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, April 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Discover Financial Services from $110.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. HSBC raised their price target on Discover Financial Services from $107.00 to $144.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 21st. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Discover Financial Services from $120.00 to $123.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, April 19th. Finally, StockNews.com initiated coverage on shares of Discover Financial Services in a research report on Saturday, June 29th. They issued a “hold” rating for the company. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven 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 $126.29.

Discover Financial Services Stock Performance

Discover Financial Services stock opened at $132.06 on Friday. The business has a 50 day moving average of $125.08 and a 200-day moving average of $119.32. The company has a market capitalization of $33.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.06, a P/E/G ratio of 0.81 and a beta of 1.44. Discover Financial Services has a 1 year low of $79.04 and a 1 year high of $133.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.50, a current ratio of 1.12 and a quick ratio of 1.12.

Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 18th. The financial services provider reported $1.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.98 by ($1.88). The business had revenue of $4.21 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.07 billion. Discover Financial Services had a net margin of 10.56% and a return on equity of 17.07%. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $3.58 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that Discover Financial Services will post 11.47 earnings per share for the current year.

Discover Financial Services Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 6th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 23rd were given a dividend of $0.70 per share. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.12%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, May 22nd. Discover Financial Services’s dividend payout ratio 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.