Fiserv (NYSE:FI) Hits New 52-Week High Following Strong Earnings

Fiserv, Inc. (NYSE:FI) hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Wednesday after the company announced better than expected quarterly earnings. The company traded as high as $225.76 and last traded at $228.72, with a volume of 314250 shares. The stock had previously closed at $214.22.

The business services provider reported $2.51 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.48 by $0.03. Fiserv had a return on equity of 17.10% and a net margin of 15.22%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently issued reports on FI shares. Oppenheimer lifted their price objective on Fiserv from $214.00 to $239.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. TD Cowen boosted their price objective on shares of Fiserv from $200.00 to $230.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Fiserv from $199.00 to $227.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Fiserv from $220.00 to $240.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, Citigroup increased their price target on shares of Fiserv from $230.00 to $233.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-two have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Fiserv has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $224.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Fiserv news, CAO Kenneth Best sold 20,821 shares of Fiserv stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $214.61, for a total value of $4,468,394.81. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 38,771 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,320,644.31. The trade was a 34.94 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.75% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Fiserv

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Sanders Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Fiserv during the 3rd quarter valued at $764,543,000. FMR LLC lifted its stake in shares of Fiserv by 17.8% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 9,442,476 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,696,341,000 after purchasing an additional 1,427,664 shares during the last quarter. Maj Invest Holding A S acquired a new stake in shares of Fiserv in the 3rd quarter valued at $172,993,000. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Fiserv by 788.7% in the 3rd quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC now owns 632,554 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $109,700,000 after purchasing an additional 561,377 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mizuho Securities USA LLC lifted its stake in shares of Fiserv by 1,238.6% in the 3rd quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 603,887 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $108,488,000 after purchasing an additional 558,774 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.98% of the company’s stock.

Fiserv Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a current ratio of 1.07. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $208.45 and its 200-day moving average is $192.25. The firm has a market cap of $129.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 43.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 0.94.

Fiserv Company 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.