New York Life Investment Management LLC Has $22.11 Million Stock Holdings in Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS)

New York Life Investment Management LLC raised its stake in Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) by 29.9% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 169,046 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 38,916 shares during the quarter. New York Life Investment Management LLC owned approximately 0.07% of Discover Financial Services worth $22,113,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in DFS. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Discover Financial Services in the fourth quarter valued at $322,199,000. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA acquired a new position in shares of Discover Financial Services during the 4th quarter worth about $121,113,000. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Discover Financial Services by 60.9% during the 4th quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,122,824 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $238,605,000 after purchasing an additional 803,738 shares during the last quarter. Elser Financial Planning Inc bought a new stake in shares of Discover Financial Services in the 2nd quarter valued at about $91,044,000. Finally, Canoe Financial LP acquired a new stake in Discover Financial Services in the 4th quarter valued at about $72,265,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.94% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on Discover Financial Services from $140.00 to $148.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday, July 19th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on Discover Financial Services from $115.00 to $119.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, July 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Discover Financial Services from $132.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, July 19th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on shares of Discover Financial Services from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, July 8th. Finally, Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Discover Financial Services from $135.00 to $137.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, July 19th. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Discover Financial Services presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $132.94.

Discover Financial Services Price Performance

Discover Financial Services stock opened at $128.70 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $32.28 billion, a PE ratio of 14.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 1.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28, a current ratio of 1.12 and a quick ratio of 1.04. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $134.05 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $127.67. Discover Financial Services has a one year low of $79.04 and a one year high of $147.61.

Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 17th. The financial services provider reported $6.06 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.06 by $3.00. Discover Financial Services had a return on equity of 20.92% and a net margin of 12.88%. The company had revenue of $4.54 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.18 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $3.54 earnings per share. Discover Financial Services’s revenue was up 17.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that Discover Financial Services will post 12.75 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Discover Financial Services Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 5th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 22nd were given a dividend of $0.70 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, August 22nd. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.18%. Discover Financial Services’s dividend payout ratio is currently 31.93%.

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; 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.