Maryland State Retirement & Pension System Has $2.31 Million Stock Holdings in Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS)

Maryland State Retirement & Pension System cut its stake in Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) by 6.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 13,352 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 934 shares during the quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System’s holdings in Discover Financial Services were worth $2,313,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of DFS. C2P Capital Advisory Group LLC d.b.a. Prosperity Capital Advisors acquired a new position in shares of Discover Financial Services in the fourth quarter worth $351,766,000. FMR LLC increased its stake in shares of Discover Financial Services by 8.0% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 7,493,862 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,051,314,000 after acquiring an additional 558,227 shares during the last quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC acquired a new position in shares of Discover Financial Services in the fourth quarter worth $39,067,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in Discover Financial Services in the fourth quarter worth $38,489,000. Finally, Proficio Capital Partners LLC bought a new stake in Discover Financial Services in the fourth quarter worth $36,219,000. 86.94% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Discover Financial Services Stock Up 1.4 %

NYSE DFS opened at $164.41 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a current ratio of 1.09. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $186.28 and a 200 day simple moving average of $168.46. Discover Financial Services has a twelve month low of $119.31 and a twelve month high of $205.76. The stock has a market cap of $41.37 billion, a PE ratio of 10.30, a PEG ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 1.45.

Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) last released its earnings results 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%. On average, research analysts forecast that Discover Financial Services will post 13.88 EPS for the current year.

Discover Financial Services Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 6th. Investors of record on Friday, May 23rd will be paid a $0.70 dividend. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.70%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 23rd. Discover Financial Services’s payout ratio is presently 17.54%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Discover Financial Services from $186.00 to $209.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on shares of Discover Financial Services from $170.00 to $232.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. StockNews.com cut shares of Discover Financial Services from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective 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. Finally, UBS Group upgraded shares of Discover Financial Services from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $150.00 to $239.00 in a report on Monday, January 13th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $191.91.

Discover Financial Services Company 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.