New York State Common Retirement Fund Has $24.02 Million Position in Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS)

New York State Common Retirement Fund reduced its stake in Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) by 4.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 138,671 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 6,000 shares during the period. New York State Common Retirement Fund owned about 0.06% of Discover Financial Services worth $24,022,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in DFS. C2P Capital Advisory Group LLC d.b.a. Prosperity Capital Advisors bought a new position in Discover Financial Services in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $351,766,000. FMR LLC raised its holdings in Discover Financial Services by 8.0% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 7,493,862 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,051,314,000 after buying an additional 558,227 shares during the last quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC raised its holdings in Discover Financial Services by 1,272.0% in the 3rd quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 265,155 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $37,199,000 after buying an additional 245,829 shares during the last quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC bought a new position in Discover Financial Services in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $39,067,000. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Discover Financial Services in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $21,169,000. 86.94% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Discover Financial Services Stock Performance

NYSE:DFS opened at $194.21 on Friday. The company has a fifty day moving average of $186.87 and a 200-day moving average of $162.92. The firm has a market capitalization of $48.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.17, a P/E/G ratio of 1.53 and a beta of 1.46. The company has a quick ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09. Discover Financial Services has a twelve month low of $118.74 and a twelve month high of $205.76.

Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 22nd. The financial services provider reported $5.11 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.13 by $1.98. Discover Financial Services had a net margin of 17.29% and a return on equity of 26.18%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Discover Financial Services will post 13.88 EPS for the current year.

Discover Financial Services Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 6th. Investors of record on Friday, May 23rd will be given a $0.70 dividend. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.44%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 23rd. Discover Financial Services’s payout ratio is currently 17.54%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Discover Financial Services from $186.00 to $209.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on shares of Discover Financial Services from $156.00 to $163.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on shares of Discover Financial Services from $193.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Discover Financial Services from $185.00 to $214.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Truist Financial raised their price target on shares of Discover Financial Services from $233.00 to $262.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $186.46.

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.