Natixis Advisors L.P. Boosts Stake in Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS)

Natixis Advisors L.P. boosted its holdings in shares of Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS - Free Report) by 124.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 184,851 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 102,380 shares during the period. Natixis Advisors L.P. owned approximately 0.07% of Discover Financial Services worth $20,777,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Boston Partners grew its stake in shares of Discover Financial Services by 56.5% in the 3rd quarter. Boston Partners now owns 8,597,250 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $743,663,000 after acquiring an additional 3,102,119 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC grew its stake in shares of Discover Financial Services by 4.4% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 5,686,848 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $492,652,000 after acquiring an additional 238,498 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp grew its stake in shares of Discover Financial Services by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 2,578,053 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $223,337,000 after acquiring an additional 20,333 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Discover Financial Services by 30.9% in the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,233,324 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $193,473,000 after acquiring an additional 526,951 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Truist Financial Corp grew its stake in shares of Discover Financial Services by 239.6% in the 4th quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 2,027,686 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $227,912,000 after acquiring an additional 1,430,637 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.94% of the company's stock.

Discover Financial Services Price Performance

Shares of DFS stock traded up $0.32 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $125.36. 1,153,668 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,138,156. The company has a market capitalization of $31.42 billion, a PE ratio of 14.26, a PEG ratio of 0.72 and a beta of 1.43. Discover Financial Services has a 12-month low of $79.04 and a 12-month high of $131.65. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $124.41 and its 200-day simple moving average is $108.71. The company has a current ratio of 1.12, a quick ratio of 1.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.50.

Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 18th. The financial services provider reported $1.10 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 return on equity of 17.07% and a net margin of 10.56%. During the same period last year, the business posted $3.58 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Discover Financial Services will post 11.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Discover Financial Services Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 6th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 23rd will be issued a $0.70 dividend. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.23%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 22nd. Discover Financial Services's dividend payout ratio is 31.93%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently weighed in on DFS. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price target on shares of Discover Financial Services from $139.00 to $121.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 19th. HSBC increased their price target on shares of Discover Financial Services from $107.00 to $144.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Discover Financial Services from $110.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their price target on shares of Discover Financial Services from $140.00 to $111.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 19th. Finally, StockNews.com began coverage on shares of Discover Financial Services in a report on Saturday. They issued a "hold" rating on the stock. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Discover Financial Services currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $126.29.

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.