State of Michigan Retirement System Has $11.80 Million Stake in Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS)

State of Michigan Retirement System reduced its holdings in Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) by 0.4% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 68,101 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 300 shares during the quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System’s holdings in Discover Financial Services were worth $11,797,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in DFS. Hemington Wealth Management boosted its stake in Discover Financial Services by 11.0% during the 4th quarter. Hemington Wealth Management now owns 503 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $87,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares during the period. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its holdings in shares of Discover Financial Services by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 9,248 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,602,000 after buying an additional 56 shares during the last quarter. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. boosted its position in shares of Discover Financial Services by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. now owns 6,158 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,067,000 after acquiring an additional 57 shares during the period. Invst LLC grew its stake in shares of Discover Financial Services by 0.9% in the third quarter. Invst LLC now owns 7,253 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,018,000 after acquiring an additional 62 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CTC Alternative Strategies Ltd. increased its position in Discover Financial Services by 3.2% during the third quarter. CTC Alternative Strategies Ltd. now owns 2,047 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $287,000 after acquiring an additional 63 shares during the period. 86.94% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have weighed in on DFS. Barclays increased their price target 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. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on shares of Discover Financial Services from $170.00 to $232.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th. StockNews.com lowered Discover Financial Services from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective 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. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Discover Financial Services from $185.00 to $214.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Discover Financial Services currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $191.91.

Discover Financial Services Stock Performance

Discover Financial Services stock opened at $181.28 on Thursday. Discover Financial Services has a 52-week low of $118.74 and a 52-week high of $205.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09, a current ratio of 1.09 and a quick ratio of 1.03. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $189.27 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $166.62. The firm has a market capitalization of $45.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.36, a P/E/G ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 1.46.

Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The financial services provider reported $5.11 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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, analysts anticipate that Discover Financial Services will post 13.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Discover Financial Services Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 6th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 23rd will be issued a $0.70 dividend. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.54%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 23rd. Discover Financial Services’s payout ratio is currently 17.54%.

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.