Louisiana State Employees Retirement System Sells 100 Shares of Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS)

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System lessened its holdings in Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) by 0.7% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 14,100 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 100 shares during the quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System’s holdings in Discover Financial Services were worth $1,978,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in DFS. Elser Financial Planning Inc purchased a new stake in shares of Discover Financial Services during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $91,044,000. Magnetar Financial LLC purchased a new stake in Discover Financial Services in the first quarter worth $71,693,000. Samlyn Capital LLC raised its stake in shares of Discover Financial Services by 368.0% in the second quarter. Samlyn Capital LLC now owns 646,691 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $84,594,000 after buying an additional 508,504 shares during the period. M&G Plc purchased a new position in shares of Discover Financial Services during the 1st quarter valued at $62,829,000. Finally, National Bank of Canada FI grew its stake in shares of Discover Financial Services by 430.5% during the 1st quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 443,707 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $54,752,000 after acquiring an additional 360,074 shares during the period. 86.94% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Discover Financial Services Stock Down 1.4 %

Shares of NYSE DFS opened at $150.80 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $37.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.19, a PEG ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 1.41. Discover Financial Services has a one year low of $80.38 and a one year high of $157.06. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $139.45 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $132.23. 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, October 16th. The financial services provider reported $3.69 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.28 by $0.41. The company had revenue of $5.91 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.36 billion. Discover Financial Services had a net margin of 12.88% and a return on equity of 20.92%. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.59 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Discover Financial Services will post 13.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Discover Financial Services Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 5th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 21st will be issued a dividend of $0.70 per share. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.86%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 21st. Discover Financial Services’s dividend payout ratio is presently 31.93%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently issued reports on DFS shares. StockNews.com initiated coverage on shares of Discover Financial Services in a research report on Sunday. They issued a “buy” rating on the stock. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on Discover Financial Services from $115.00 to $119.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, July 19th. Evercore ISI raised their target price on Discover Financial Services from $140.00 to $156.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research note on Monday, October 7th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on shares of Discover Financial Services from $148.00 to $161.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price 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. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $136.12.

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; 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.