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

Stock Yards Bank & Trust Co. cut its holdings in shares of Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) by 2.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 8,336 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 233 shares during the period. Stock Yards Bank & Trust Co.’s holdings in Discover Financial Services were worth $1,444,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the business. DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. grew its stake in shares of Discover Financial Services by 506.5% in the third quarter. DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. now owns 188 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 157 shares during the period. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. bought a new stake in Discover Financial Services in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $30,000. Grove Bank & Trust raised its stake in Discover Financial Services by 78.1% during the 4th quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 203 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 89 shares during the last quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. bought a new position in shares of Discover Financial Services during the 4th quarter valued at $37,000. Finally, Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Discover Financial Services by 37.1% in the 3rd quarter. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. now owns 292 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $41,000 after buying an additional 79 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.94% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

DFS has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Barclays increased their target price on Discover Financial Services from $186.00 to $209.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. UBS Group upgraded shares of Discover Financial Services from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $150.00 to $239.00 in a research note on Monday, January 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Discover Financial Services from $146.00 to $169.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on shares of Discover Financial Services from $170.00 to $232.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Discover Financial Services from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $182.64.

Discover Financial Services Stock Down 1.2 %

Shares of DFS opened at $198.60 on Tuesday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $181.46 and its 200 day moving average is $157.13. The company has a current ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09. Discover Financial Services has a 12-month low of $104.08 and a 12-month high of $205.76. The company has a market capitalization of $49.91 billion, a PE ratio of 12.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 1.46.

Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 22nd. The financial services provider reported $5.11 earnings per share (EPS) 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%. Research analysts expect that Discover Financial Services will post 13.39 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Discover Financial Services Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 6th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 23rd will be paid a $0.70 dividend. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.41%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 23rd. Discover Financial Services’s payout ratio is currently 17.54%.

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.