Stock Yards Bank & Trust Co. Decreases Stake in Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS)

Stock Yards Bank & Trust Co. decreased its position in Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) by 1.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 14,354 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 273 shares during the period. Stock Yards Bank & Trust Co.’s holdings in Discover Financial Services were worth $1,613,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC purchased a new stake in Discover Financial Services in the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. increased its stake in Discover Financial Services by 282.0% in the 3rd quarter. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. now owns 382 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 282 shares during the last quarter. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Discover Financial Services in the 4th quarter valued at about $35,000. First Command Advisory Services Inc. purchased a new stake in Discover Financial Services in the 3rd quarter valued at about $39,000. Finally, Larson Financial Group LLC increased its stake in Discover Financial Services by 105.8% in the 3rd quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 465 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 239 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.94% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have commented on the stock. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Discover Financial Services from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $105.00 to $133.00 in a research note on Thursday, February 8th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their target price on shares of Discover Financial Services from $140.00 to $111.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 19th. Seaport Res Ptn downgraded shares of Discover Financial Services from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, March 15th. Wolfe Research reissued a “peer perform” rating on shares of Discover Financial Services in a research report on Wednesday, February 21st. Finally, Evercore ISI increased their target price on shares of Discover Financial Services from $117.00 to $140.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 22nd. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $126.29.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO John Greene sold 35,191 shares of Discover Financial Services stock in a transaction on Friday, January 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $106.51, for a total value of $3,748,193.41. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 18,592 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,980,233.92. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.50% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Discover Financial Services Stock Performance

Discover Financial Services stock opened at $126.69 on Tuesday. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $122.34 and its 200-day moving average price is $106.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.49, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a current ratio of 1.05. The stock has a market cap of $31.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 1.45. Discover Financial Services has a fifty-two week low of $79.04 and a fifty-two week high of $131.65.

Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 18th. The financial services provider reported $1.10 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.98 by ($1.88). The company had revenue of $4.21 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.07 billion. Discover Financial Services had a net margin of 10.56% and a return on equity of 16.74%. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $3.58 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that Discover Financial Services will post 11.34 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Discover Financial Services Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 6th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 23rd will be given a $0.70 dividend. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.21%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 22nd. Discover Financial Services’s payout ratio is presently 31.93%.

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; 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.