Loomis Sayles & Co. L P Lowers Stock Holdings in Fiserv, Inc. (NYSE:FI)

Loomis Sayles & Co. L P cut its holdings in shares of Fiserv, Inc. (NYSE:FI) by 20.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 324 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 84 shares during the quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P’s holdings in Fiserv were worth $67,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in FI. Czech National Bank increased its holdings in shares of Fiserv by 5.2% during the 4th quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 123,353 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $25,339,000 after buying an additional 6,072 shares during the last quarter. Chiron Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Fiserv during the third quarter worth about $4,709,000. Trust Co. of Vermont raised its holdings in shares of Fiserv by 170.4% in the 4th quarter. Trust Co. of Vermont now owns 6,839 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,405,000 after purchasing an additional 4,310 shares during the period. Cardano Risk Management B.V. purchased a new stake in shares of Fiserv during the 4th quarter worth about $97,254,000. Finally, M&T Bank Corp increased its position in Fiserv by 12.0% during the 3rd quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 140,460 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $25,234,000 after purchasing an additional 15,103 shares in the last quarter. 90.98% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Fiserv Stock Down 1.4 %

Shares of Fiserv stock opened at $216.15 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.07, a current ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $222.00 and a 200 day moving average price of $208.17. Fiserv, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $145.98 and a fifty-two week high of $238.59. The firm has a market cap of $121.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.10, a P/E/G ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 0.93.

Fiserv (NYSE:FI) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The business services provider reported $2.51 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.48 by $0.03. Fiserv had a return on equity of 17.93% and a net margin of 15.31%. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Fiserv, Inc. will post 10.23 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Fiserv announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback program on Thursday, February 20th that authorizes the company to repurchase 60,000,000 outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the business services provider to repurchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are usually a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Seaport Res Ptn raised shares of Fiserv from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Oppenheimer lifted their target price on shares of Fiserv from $214.00 to $239.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, December 19th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on Fiserv from $208.00 to $231.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on Fiserv from $255.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on Fiserv from $238.00 to $260.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-one have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $242.32.

Insider Transactions at Fiserv

In other news, COO Guy Chiarello sold 45,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 227,711 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $53,637,326.05. This represents a 16.50 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.75% of the company’s stock.

About Fiserv

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.