New York State Teachers Retirement System Trims Stock Holdings in Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS)

New York State Teachers Retirement System reduced its stake in shares of Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS - Free Report) by 3.2% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 254,901 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 8,315 shares during the period. New York State Teachers Retirement System owned approximately 0.10% of Discover Financial Services worth $35,760,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Norden Group LLC purchased a new stake in Discover Financial Services during the 1st quarter valued at about $917,000. Kovack Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in Discover Financial Services during the 1st quarter worth approximately $228,000. Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its stake in Discover Financial Services by 17.4% during the 1st quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 43,562 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $5,710,000 after acquiring an additional 6,445 shares during the period. Private Advisor Group LLC lifted its stake in Discover Financial Services by 3.9% during the 1st quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 13,145 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,723,000 after acquiring an additional 494 shares during the period. Finally, Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Discover Financial Services by 36.4% in the 1st quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 49,105 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $6,437,000 after acquiring an additional 13,093 shares during the last quarter. 86.94% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Discover Financial Services Price Performance

NYSE DFS traded up $2.87 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $151.30. The stock had a trading volume of 2,202,364 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,633,805. Discover Financial Services has a twelve month low of $82.15 and a twelve month high of $157.06. The stock has a market capitalization of $37.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.98, a PEG ratio of 1.00 and a beta of 1.41. The firm's 50 day moving average is $140.21 and its 200 day moving average is $132.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28, a current ratio of 1.08 and a quick ratio of 1.04.

Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 16th. The financial services provider reported $3.69 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.28 by $0.41. Discover Financial Services had a net margin of 13.78% and a return on equity of 21.38%. The firm had revenue of $5.91 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.36 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.59 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Discover Financial Services will post 13.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Discover Financial Services Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 5th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 21st will be given a dividend of $0.70 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 21st. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.85%. Discover Financial Services's payout ratio is 22.60%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently issued reports on DFS. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on shares of Discover Financial Services from $115.00 to $119.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research report on Friday, July 19th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on Discover Financial Services from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, July 8th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on Discover Financial Services from $148.00 to $161.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a report on Friday, October 18th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on Discover Financial Services from $145.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 9th. Finally, Barclays upped their price objective on Discover Financial Services from $135.00 to $137.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, July 19th. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Discover Financial Services has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $136.53.

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.