New York Life Investment Management LLC Lowers Stake in Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS)

New York Life Investment Management LLC lessened its position in shares of Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) by 24.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 127,120 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 41,399 shares during the period. New York Life Investment Management LLC owned approximately 0.05% of Discover Financial Services worth $22,021,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of DFS. Private Advisor Group LLC boosted its position in shares of Discover Financial Services by 2.0% in the third quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 13,181 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,849,000 after buying an additional 255 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Discover Financial Services in the third quarter worth about $21,169,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its position in shares of Discover Financial Services by 2.6% in the third quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 26,674 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,742,000 after buying an additional 685 shares during the period. Allworth Financial LP boosted its position in shares of Discover Financial Services by 22.6% in the third quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 4,808 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $675,000 after buying an additional 886 shares during the period. Finally, Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Discover Financial Services by 23.3% in the third quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 20,867 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,906,000 after buying an additional 3,949 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.94% of the company’s stock.

Discover Financial Services Trading Up 1.4 %

Shares of NYSE DFS opened at $190.36 on Thursday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $187.93 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $164.56. Discover Financial Services has a 52-week low of $118.74 and a 52-week high of $205.76. The stock has a market capitalization of $47.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.93, a PEG ratio of 1.51 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 (NYSE:DFS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 22nd. The financial services provider reported $5.11 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.13 by $1.98. Discover Financial Services had a return on equity of 26.18% and a net margin of 17.29%. On average, analysts anticipate that Discover Financial Services will post 13.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Discover Financial Services Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 6th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 23rd will be given a dividend of $0.70 per share. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.47%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 23rd. Discover Financial Services’s payout ratio is 17.54%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Discover Financial Services from $146.00 to $169.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Evercore ISI increased their price target on Discover Financial Services from $156.00 to $163.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. UBS Group raised Discover Financial Services from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the company from $150.00 to $239.00 in a report on Monday, January 13th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on Discover Financial Services from $193.00 to $210.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Discover Financial Services from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $191.91.

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.