Natixis Advisors LLC Cuts Stake in Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS)

Natixis Advisors LLC reduced its stake in Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) by 28.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund 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.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of DFS. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Discover Financial Services during the third quarter valued at $30,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Discover Financial Services during the fourth quarter valued at $33,000. Grove Bank & Trust boosted its position in shares of Discover Financial Services by 78.1% during the fourth quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 203 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 89 shares during the last quarter. Bfsg LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Discover Financial Services during the fourth quarter valued at $35,000. Finally, Hantz Financial Services Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Discover Financial Services during the fourth quarter valued at $37,000. 86.94% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Discover Financial Services Stock Down 7.1 %

DFS stock opened at $152.59 on Tuesday. Discover Financial Services has a twelve month low of $119.31 and a twelve month 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. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $187.16 and its 200-day moving average price is $168.39.

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 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%. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Discover Financial Services will post 13.88 EPS for the current year.

Discover Financial Services Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 6th. Investors of record on Friday, May 23rd will be issued 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 yield of 1.84%. Discover Financial Services’s dividend payout ratio is presently 17.54%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently commented on DFS shares. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Discover Financial Services from $146.00 to $169.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Discover Financial Services from $185.00 to $214.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. StockNews.com cut Discover Financial Services from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Truist Financial raised their target price on Discover Financial Services from $233.00 to $262.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $191.91.

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.