OLD Second National Bank of Aurora Lowers Stock Holdings in Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS)

OLD Second National Bank of Aurora lowered its stake in shares of Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) by 1.9% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 22,472 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 446 shares during the period. OLD Second National Bank of Aurora’s holdings in Discover Financial Services were worth $2,526,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Court Place Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Discover Financial Services during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $210,000. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Discover Financial Services by 4.7% during the 4th quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 22,319 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,509,000 after purchasing an additional 999 shares during the last quarter. First Interstate Bank acquired a new position in shares of Discover Financial Services during the 4th quarter worth approximately $279,000. Avior Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of Discover Financial Services by 31.5% during the 4th quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC now owns 7,928 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $891,000 after purchasing an additional 1,899 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Eagle Bluffs Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of Discover Financial Services by 2.0% during the 4th quarter. Eagle Bluffs Wealth Management LLC now owns 14,274 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,604,000 after purchasing an additional 286 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.94% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have commented on DFS. Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of Discover Financial Services from $127.00 to $168.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 23rd. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on shares of Discover Financial Services from $117.00 to $140.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 22nd. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and set a $140.00 price objective (up from $117.00) on shares of Discover Financial Services in a research note on Wednesday, February 21st. StockNews.com began coverage on shares of Discover Financial Services in a research report on Thursday. They set a “hold” rating for the company. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Discover Financial Services from $110.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $125.22.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO John Greene sold 35,191 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $106.51, for a total transaction of $3,748,193.41. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 18,592 shares in the company, valued at $1,980,233.92. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 0.69% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Discover Financial Services Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:DFS traded up $4.88 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $124.77. The stock had a trading volume of 774,600 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,238,415. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $121.38 and its 200 day simple moving average is $105.53. Discover Financial Services has a 1-year low of $79.04 and a 1-year high of $131.65. The firm 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 debt-to-equity ratio of 1.49, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a current ratio of 1.13.

Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 17th. The financial services provider reported $1.10 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.98 by ($1.88). Discover Financial Services had a net margin of 14.30% and a return on equity of 22.24%. The company had revenue of $4.21 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.07 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $3.58 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Discover Financial Services will post 11.2 earnings per share 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.