Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board Acquires 438 Shares of Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS)

Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board lifted its holdings in Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) by 7.4% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 6,346 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 438 shares during the quarter. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board’s holdings in Discover Financial Services were worth $832,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Connors Investor Services Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Discover Financial Services by 1.2% in the first quarter. Connors Investor Services Inc. now owns 20,569 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,696,000 after buying an additional 250 shares during the last quarter. Councilmark Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in Discover Financial Services during the 1st quarter worth about $402,000. M&G Plc bought a new stake in Discover Financial Services during the 1st quarter worth about $62,829,000. Forge First Asset Management Inc. bought a new stake in Discover Financial Services during the 1st quarter worth about $13,341,000. Finally, J.Safra Asset Management Corp grew its position in shares of Discover Financial Services by 76.7% during the 1st quarter. J.Safra Asset Management Corp now owns 311 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $41,000 after buying an additional 135 shares during the period. 86.94% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Discover Financial Services Stock Performance

Discover Financial Services stock traded down $1.95 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $139.82. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,556,946 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,840,844. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.50, a current ratio of 1.07 and a quick ratio of 1.12. The company has a market cap of $35.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.90, a PEG ratio of 0.85 and a beta of 1.44. Discover Financial Services has a 1-year low of $79.04 and a 1-year high of $147.61. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $127.40 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $121.40.

Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 17th. The financial services provider reported $6.06 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.06 by $3.00. The firm had revenue of $4.54 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.18 billion. Discover Financial Services had a return on equity of 20.53% and a net margin of 12.88%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 17.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $3.54 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Discover Financial Services will post 11.77 earnings per share for the current year.

Discover Financial Services Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 5th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 22nd will be paid a $0.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 22nd. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.00%. Discover Financial Services’s dividend payout ratio is 31.93%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on DFS shares. StockNews.com started coverage on Discover Financial Services in a research report on Monday, July 15th. They set a “hold” rating for the company. Barclays boosted their price objective on Discover Financial Services from $135.00 to $137.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on Discover Financial Services from $140.00 to $148.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on Discover Financial Services from $115.00 to $119.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Discover Financial Services from $105.00 to $135.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $131.33.

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.