Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund Sells 649 Shares of Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS)

Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund trimmed its position in shares of Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) by 8.0% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 7,434 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 649 shares during the quarter. Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund’s holdings in Discover Financial Services were worth $1,043,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Discover Financial Services during the 2nd quarter worth $26,000. DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Discover Financial Services by 506.5% in the third quarter. DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. now owns 188 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 157 shares in the last quarter. Y.D. More Investments Ltd raised its position in shares of Discover Financial Services by 147.8% during the second quarter. Y.D. More Investments Ltd now owns 223 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 133 shares during the period. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. lifted its holdings 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 valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 95 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Larson Financial Group LLC lifted its holdings 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 valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 195 shares in the last quarter. 86.94% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

DFS has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on shares of Discover Financial Services from $148.00 to $161.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, October 18th. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on shares of Discover Financial Services from $156.00 to $163.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Discover Financial Services from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Discover Financial Services from $152.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Discover Financial Services currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $138.81.

Discover Financial Services Trading Up 1.3 %

NYSE DFS opened at $176.07 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $44.21 billion, a PE ratio of 14.21, a PEG ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 1.41. Discover Financial Services has a 12 month low of $84.03 and a 12 month high of $188.26. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $147.90 and a 200-day moving average of $136.07. The company has a current ratio of 1.08, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28.

Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 16th. The financial services provider reported $3.69 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.28 by $0.41. The firm had revenue of $5.91 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.36 billion. Discover Financial Services had a net margin of 13.78% and a return on equity of 21.38%. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.59 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Discover Financial Services will post 13.23 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Discover Financial Services Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.59%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 21st. Discover Financial Services’s payout ratio is currently 22.60%.

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; 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.