OLD Second National Bank of Aurora Sells 446 Shares of Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS)

OLD Second National Bank of Aurora cut its position in Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) by 1.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 22,472 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 446 shares during the quarter. OLD Second National Bank of Aurora’s holdings in Discover Financial Services were worth $2,526,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC bought a new position in Discover Financial Services during the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Householder Group Estate & Retirement Specialist LLC bought a new stake in shares of Discover Financial Services in the third quarter valued at about $30,000. Resurgent Financial Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Discover Financial Services in the fourth quarter valued at about $31,000. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. boosted its position in shares of Discover Financial Services by 282.0% in the third quarter. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. now owns 382 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 282 shares during the period. Finally, Compass Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Discover Financial Services in the fourth quarter valued at about $34,000. 86.94% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Discover Financial Services news, CFO John Greene sold 35,191 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $106.51, for a total value of $3,748,193.41. Following the completion of 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 can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.69% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently commented on the company. StockNews.com assumed coverage on Discover Financial Services in a research note on Thursday. They issued a “hold” rating for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Discover Financial Services from $110.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Discover Financial Services from $105.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on Discover Financial Services from $117.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a report on Thursday, February 22nd. Finally, Seaport Res Ptn cut Discover Financial Services from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, March 15th. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $125.22.

Discover Financial Services Stock Performance

Shares of Discover Financial Services stock traded up $4.88 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $124.77. 774,600 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,238,415. Discover Financial Services has a 12-month low of $79.04 and a 12-month high of $131.65. The stock has a market capitalization of $31.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.66, a PEG ratio of 0.85 and a beta of 1.45. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $121.38 and a 200-day simple moving average of $105.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.49, a current ratio of 1.13 and a quick ratio of 1.13.

Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 17th. The financial services provider reported $1.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.98 by ($1.88). The business 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 14.30% and a return on equity of 22.24%. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $3.58 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Discover Financial Services will post 11.2 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.