Focused Investors LLC Has $253.19 Million Stake in Fiserv, Inc. (NYSE:FI)

Focused Investors LLC decreased its stake in shares of Fiserv, Inc. (NYSE:FI) by 1.1% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 1,232,550 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 13,650 shares during the quarter. Fiserv comprises about 8.0% of Focused Investors LLC’s holdings, making the stock its biggest position. Focused Investors LLC’s holdings in Fiserv were worth $253,190,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Marshall Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Fiserv during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Valley National Advisers Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Fiserv in the fourth quarter valued at about $29,000. Compass Financial Services Inc purchased a new position in shares of Fiserv in the fourth quarter valued at about $31,000. Campbell Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Fiserv in the fourth quarter worth about $37,000. Finally, Knuff & Co LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Fiserv in the fourth quarter worth about $45,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.98% of the company’s stock.

Fiserv Stock Down 1.7 %

Shares of NYSE FI opened at $218.01 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a current ratio of 1.06. The firm has a market capitalization of $122.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.45, a PEG ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 0.93. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $220.46 and a 200 day moving average price of $206.23. Fiserv, Inc. has a 52-week low of $145.98 and a 52-week high of $238.59.

Fiserv (NYSE:FI) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The business services provider reported $2.51 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.48 by $0.03. Fiserv had a return on equity of 17.93% and a net margin of 15.31%. Sell-side analysts expect that Fiserv, Inc. will post 10.23 earnings per share for the current year.

Fiserv announced that its board has authorized a share repurchase program on Thursday, February 20th that authorizes the company to buyback 60,000,000 shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the business services provider to reacquire shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on FI shares. Susquehanna boosted their price objective on Fiserv from $230.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on Fiserv from $208.00 to $231.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 3rd. KeyCorp boosted their price objective on Fiserv from $250.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on Fiserv from $233.00 to $260.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Citigroup upped their target price on Fiserv from $230.00 to $233.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-one have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $239.83.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Fiserv news, COO Guy Chiarello sold 45,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $235.55, for a total transaction of $10,599,750.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 227,711 shares in the company, valued at $53,637,326.05. This represents a 16.50 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.75% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Fiserv Profile

Fiserv, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, provides payments and financial services technology services in the United States, Europe, the Middle East and Africa, Latin America, the Asia-Pacific, and internationally. It operates through Merchant Acceptance, Financial Technology, and Payments and Network segments.