Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) Shares Sold by Stock Yards Bank & Trust Co.

Stock Yards Bank & Trust Co. reduced its position in Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) by 27.6% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 9,982 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 3,800 shares during the period. Stock Yards Bank & Trust Co.’s holdings in Discover Financial Services were worth $1,306,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Discover Financial Services in the 4th quarter valued at about $322,199,000. Brave Warrior Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Discover Financial Services by 10.6% in the 4th quarter. Brave Warrior Advisors LLC now owns 2,633,167 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $295,968,000 after purchasing an additional 251,909 shares in the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Discover Financial Services by 60.9% in the 4th quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,122,824 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $238,605,000 after purchasing an additional 803,738 shares in the last quarter. Cooke & Bieler LP lifted its stake in shares of Discover Financial Services by 5.1% in the 2nd quarter. Cooke & Bieler LP now owns 1,281,950 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $167,692,000 after purchasing an additional 62,595 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its stake in shares of Discover Financial Services by 67.5% in the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 1,257,086 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $141,297,000 after purchasing an additional 506,801 shares in the last quarter. 86.94% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Discover Financial Services Price Performance

DFS stock opened at $137.63 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 1.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28. Discover Financial Services has a 52-week low of $79.04 and a 52-week high of $147.61. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $134.17 and its two-hundred day moving average is $128.26. The company has a market capitalization of $34.51 billion, a PE ratio of 15.69, a P/E/G ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 1.42.

Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 17th. The financial services provider reported $6.06 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 business had revenue of $4.54 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.18 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $3.54 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 17.0% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict that Discover Financial Services will post 12.87 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Discover Financial Services Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 5th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 22nd were issued a $0.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, August 22nd. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.03%. Discover Financial Services’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 31.93%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently weighed in on DFS. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective 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. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on Discover Financial Services from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, July 8th. Barclays raised their target price on Discover Financial Services from $135.00 to $137.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, July 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Discover Financial Services from $132.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, July 19th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on Discover Financial Services from $145.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 9th. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $132.94.

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.