Natixis Has $20.14 Million Position in Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS)

Natixis increased its holdings in Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) by 51.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 116,230 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 39,338 shares during the period. Natixis’ holdings in Discover Financial Services were worth $20,135,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in DFS. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Discover Financial Services by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 31,045,208 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $5,377,961,000 after buying an additional 290,937 shares during the period. FMR LLC boosted its stake in shares of Discover Financial Services by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 7,553,016 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,308,409,000 after purchasing an additional 59,154 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Discover Financial Services by 2.7% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 6,240,451 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,082,826,000 after purchasing an additional 165,589 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Discover Financial Services during the 4th quarter worth about $724,720,000. Finally, Invesco Ltd. lifted its holdings in Discover Financial Services by 38.5% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,974,471 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $515,268,000 after purchasing an additional 826,287 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.94% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

DFS has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Truist Financial dropped their price objective on shares of Discover Financial Services from $262.00 to $219.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, March 21st. StockNews.com cut Discover Financial Services from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. Barclays lifted their price target on Discover Financial Services from $186.00 to $209.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Discover Financial Services from $185.00 to $214.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on shares of Discover Financial Services from $169.00 to $129.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $188.40.

Discover Financial Services Price Performance

Shares of DFS stock opened at $159.91 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $171.42 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $172.58. The stock has a market cap of $40.23 billion, a PE ratio of 10.02, a PEG ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 1.20. Discover Financial Services has a 52-week low of $119.95 and a 52-week high of $205.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a current ratio of 1.09.

Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 22nd. The financial services provider reported $5.11 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.13 by $1.98. Discover Financial Services had a return on equity of 26.18% and a net margin of 17.29%. As a group, analysts forecast that Discover Financial Services will post 13.88 EPS for the current year.

Discover Financial Services Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 6th. Investors of record on Friday, May 23rd will be given a $0.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 23rd. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.75%. Discover Financial Services’s dividend payout ratio is 17.54%.

Discover Financial Services 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.