Natixis Acquires 39,338 Shares of Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS)

Natixis increased its stake in shares of Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS - Free Report) by 51.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 116,230 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 39,338 shares during the period. Natixis' holdings in Discover Financial Services were worth $20,135,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Discover Financial Services by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 31,045,208 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $5,377,961,000 after acquiring an additional 290,937 shares during the period. FMR LLC grew its holdings in 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 buying an additional 59,154 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in 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 valued at $1,082,826,000 after buying an additional 165,589 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in Discover Financial Services during the 4th quarter worth $724,720,000. Finally, Invesco Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Discover Financial Services by 38.5% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,974,471 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $515,268,000 after buying an additional 826,287 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.94% of the company's stock.

Discover Financial Services Price Performance

Discover Financial Services stock traded up $9.01 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $187.70. The company's stock had a trading volume of 3,723,462 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,609,133. The stock has a market cap of $47.23 billion, a PE ratio of 11.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 1.20. The company has a current ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09. Discover Financial Services has a 52 week low of $119.95 and a 52 week high of $205.76. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $170.27 and a 200-day moving average price of $173.02.

Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 23rd. The financial services provider reported $4.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.33 by $0.92. The business had revenue of $4.25 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.25 billion. Discover Financial Services had a net margin of 17.29% and a return on equity of 26.18%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Discover Financial Services will post 13.88 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently commented on DFS. StockNews.com lowered shares of Discover Financial Services from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. TD Securities dropped their price target on shares of Discover Financial Services from $188.00 to $184.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on Discover Financial Services from $169.00 to $129.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Discover Financial Services from $185.00 to $214.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Finally, UBS Group upgraded Discover Financial Services from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their target price for the company from $150.00 to $239.00 in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Discover Financial Services currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $188.00.

About Discover Financial Services

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.