Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) Shares Acquired by Natixis Advisors L.P.

Natixis Advisors L.P. boosted its stake in Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) by 124.1% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 184,851 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 102,380 shares during the quarter. Natixis Advisors L.P.’s holdings in Discover Financial Services were worth $20,777,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC acquired a new position in Discover Financial Services during the fourth quarter worth approximately $28,000. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Discover Financial Services during the 4th quarter worth approximately $35,000. First Command Advisory Services Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Discover Financial Services in the third quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Larson Financial Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Discover Financial Services by 105.8% during the third quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 465 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 239 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Macroview Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Discover Financial Services in the 3rd quarter valued at $41,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.94% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

DFS has been the topic of several analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their target price on shares of Discover Financial Services from $139.00 to $121.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 19th. Seaport Res Ptn cut Discover Financial Services from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, March 15th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their price objective on Discover Financial Services from $140.00 to $111.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 19th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $140.00 price target (up previously from $117.00) on shares of Discover Financial Services in a report on Wednesday, February 21st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on shares of Discover Financial Services from $137.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, April 19th. Twelve investment 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 has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $126.29.

Discover Financial Services Trading Up 0.4 %

Shares of DFS stock opened at $125.04 on Monday. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $124.41 and its 200-day simple moving average is $108.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.50, a current ratio of 1.12 and a quick ratio of 1.12. Discover Financial Services has a 1-year low of $79.04 and a 1-year high of $131.65. The firm has a market cap of $31.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.26, a PEG ratio of 0.72 and a beta of 1.43.

Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 18th. The financial services provider reported $1.10 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.98 by ($1.88). The company had revenue of $4.21 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.07 billion. Discover Financial Services had a net margin of 10.56% and a return on equity of 17.07%. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $3.58 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Discover Financial Services will post 11.86 EPS for the current year.

Discover Financial Services Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 6th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 23rd will be paid a dividend of $0.70 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 22nd. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.24%. Discover Financial Services’s dividend payout ratio is presently 31.93%.

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.