Texas Permanent School Fund Corp Sells 10,346 Shares of Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS)

Texas Permanent School Fund Corp reduced its holdings in shares of Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) by 20.0% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 41,343 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 10,346 shares during the quarter. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp’s holdings in Discover Financial Services were worth $5,408,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of DFS. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Discover Financial Services during the 2nd quarter worth $26,000. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. lifted its position in shares of Discover Financial Services by 72.5% during the 2nd quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 226 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 95 shares during the last quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC lifted its position in shares of Discover Financial Services by 348.2% during the 2nd quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 251 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 195 shares during the last quarter. Riverview Trust Co bought a new stake in shares of Discover Financial Services during the 1st quarter worth $34,000. Finally, New Covenant Trust Company N.A. bought a new stake in shares of Discover Financial Services during the 1st quarter worth $34,000. 86.94% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have commented on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on Discover Financial Services from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, July 8th. Barclays increased their target price on Discover Financial Services from $135.00 to $137.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, July 19th. BTIG Research assumed coverage on Discover Financial Services in a research report on Friday, June 7th. They issued a “neutral” rating for the company. StockNews.com assumed coverage on Discover Financial Services in a research report on Monday. They issued a “hold” rating for the company. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on Discover Financial Services from $145.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 9th. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $132.94.

Discover Financial Services Trading Up 0.5 %

NYSE DFS opened at $129.34 on Friday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $133.87 and a 200 day simple moving average of $127.91. Discover Financial Services has a one year low of $79.04 and a one year high of $147.61. The stock has a market capitalization of $32.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.75, a P/E/G ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 1.42. 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 (NYSE:DFS) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 17th. The financial services provider reported $6.06 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.06 by $3.00. Discover Financial Services had a return on equity of 20.92% and a net margin of 12.88%. The business had revenue of $4.54 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.18 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $3.54 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 17.0% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that Discover Financial Services will post 12.87 earnings per share for the current year.

Discover Financial Services Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 5th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 22nd were paid a dividend of $0.70 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, August 22nd. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.16%. 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.