Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) Shares Sold by CENTRAL TRUST Co

CENTRAL TRUST Co lessened its holdings in Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) by 4.2% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,930 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 130 shares during the period. CENTRAL TRUST Co’s holdings in Discover Financial Services were worth $411,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Inlet Private Wealth LLC increased its position in shares of Discover Financial Services by 2.4% in the third quarter. Inlet Private Wealth LLC now owns 3,185 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $447,000 after buying an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. J.Safra Asset Management Corp grew its stake in Discover Financial Services by 24.4% in the 2nd quarter. J.Safra Asset Management Corp now owns 387 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $51,000 after acquiring an additional 76 shares during the period. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. increased its holdings in 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 acquiring an additional 79 shares in the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. raised its position in Discover Financial Services by 0.9% during the second quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 9,139 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,195,000 after acquiring an additional 84 shares during the period. Finally, Greenleaf Trust lifted its holdings in Discover Financial Services by 1.6% during the third quarter. Greenleaf Trust now owns 5,509 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $773,000 after purchasing an additional 86 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.94% of the company’s stock.

Discover Financial Services Stock Up 4.0 %

Shares of NYSE:DFS opened at $148.90 on Friday. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $138.81 and a 200 day moving average price of $131.70. The company has a current ratio of 1.12, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28. The company has a market capitalization of $37.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.98, a PEG ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 1.41. Discover Financial Services has a 12-month low of $79.04 and a 12-month high of $157.06.

Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 16th. The financial services provider reported $3.69 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.28 by $0.41. The firm had revenue of $5.91 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.36 billion. Discover Financial Services had a return on equity of 20.92% and a net margin of 12.88%. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.59 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Discover Financial Services will post 13.15 EPS for the current year.

Discover Financial Services Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 5th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 21st will be given a dividend of $0.70 per share. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.88%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 21st. Discover Financial Services’s payout ratio is 31.93%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently weighed in on DFS. Evercore ISI upped their price target on shares of Discover Financial Services from $140.00 to $156.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research report on Monday, October 7th. 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 research report on Friday, July 19th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on Discover Financial Services from $115.00 to $119.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, July 19th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Discover Financial Services from $152.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, October 18th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on shares of Discover Financial Services from $145.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 9th. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $136.12.

About Discover Financial Services

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.