Natixis Advisors LLC Lowers Holdings in Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS)

Natixis Advisors LLC cut its holdings in Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) by 28.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 122,863 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 47,962 shares during the period. Natixis Advisors LLC’s holdings in Discover Financial Services were worth $21,284,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in Discover Financial Services in the 4th quarter worth approximately $33,000. Bfsg LLC bought a new stake in Discover Financial Services in the 4th quarter worth approximately $35,000. Grove Bank & Trust increased its stake in Discover Financial Services by 78.1% in the 4th quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 203 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 89 shares during the last quarter. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. bought a new stake in Discover Financial Services in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $30,000. Finally, Hantz Financial Services Inc. bought a new stake in Discover Financial Services in the 4th quarter worth approximately $37,000. 86.94% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have issued reports on the company. Barclays lifted their price objective on Discover Financial Services from $186.00 to $209.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. StockNews.com downgraded Discover Financial Services from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on Discover Financial Services from $193.00 to $210.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. UBS Group raised Discover Financial Services from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $150.00 to $239.00 in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on Discover Financial Services from $170.00 to $232.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $191.91.

Discover Financial Services Price Performance

DFS opened at $152.59 on Tuesday. The business has a fifty day moving average of $187.16 and a 200 day moving average of $168.39. Discover Financial Services has a 52-week low of $119.31 and a 52-week high of $205.76. The company has a quick ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09. The stock has a market cap of $38.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.56, a PEG ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 1.45.

Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 22nd. The financial services provider reported $5.11 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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, sell-side analysts anticipate that Discover Financial Services will post 13.88 EPS for the current year.

Discover Financial Services Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 6th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 23rd will be issued a $0.70 dividend. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.84%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 23rd. Discover Financial Services’s dividend payout ratio is 17.54%.

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; 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.