Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund Sells 7,427 Shares of Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS)

Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund trimmed its position in Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS - Free Report) by 12.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 52,954 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 7,427 shares during the quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund's holdings in Discover Financial Services were worth $5,952,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Simon Quick Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Discover Financial Services by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. Simon Quick Advisors LLC now owns 6,397 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $719,000 after acquiring an additional 109 shares during the last quarter. Czech National Bank grew its holdings in shares of Discover Financial Services by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 43,796 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $4,923,000 after buying an additional 110 shares during the period. Glenview Trust co grew its holdings in shares of Discover Financial Services by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. Glenview Trust co now owns 24,363 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $2,111,000 after buying an additional 130 shares during the period. Patron Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Discover Financial Services by 3.5% in the 3rd quarter. Patron Partners LLC now owns 4,117 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $357,000 after buying an additional 139 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mackenzie Financial Corp raised its stake in Discover Financial Services by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 28,137 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,455,000 after buying an additional 146 shares during the period. 86.94% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

DFS has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Barclays increased their price target on Discover Financial Services from $120.00 to $123.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, April 19th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their price objective on shares of Discover Financial Services from $140.00 to $111.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 19th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price objective on shares of Discover Financial Services from $139.00 to $121.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 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. Finally, Wolfe Research reaffirmed a "peer perform" rating on shares of Discover Financial Services in a research report on Wednesday, February 21st. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $126.29.

Discover Financial Services Stock Performance

DFS stock traded down $0.22 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $129.02. 1,786,224 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,225,441. Discover Financial Services has a 1-year low of $79.04 and a 1-year high of $131.65. The stock has a market capitalization of $32.33 billion, a PE ratio of 14.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 1.45. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $122.76 and a 200-day simple moving average of $106.72. The company has a current ratio of 1.05, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.49.

Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 18th. The financial services provider reported $1.10 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.98 by ($1.88). Discover Financial Services had a return on equity of 16.74% and a net margin of 10.56%. The firm had revenue of $4.21 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.07 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $3.58 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Discover Financial Services will post 11.3 earnings per share for the current year.

Discover Financial Services Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 6th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 23rd will be given a dividend of $0.70 per share. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.17%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 22nd. Discover Financial Services's dividend payout ratio is 31.93%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Discover Financial Services news, CFO John Greene sold 35,191 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $106.51, for a total transaction of $3,748,193.41. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 18,592 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,980,233.92. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.50% of the company's stock.

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.