Fisher Funds Management LTD Acquires New Holdings in Fiserv, Inc. (NYSE:FI)

Fisher Funds Management LTD acquired a new stake in shares of Fiserv, Inc. (NYSE:FI) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 140,669 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $28,894,000.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of FI. Valley National Advisers Inc. purchased a new position in Fiserv in the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. Compass Financial Services Inc purchased a new position in Fiserv in the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. Kennebec Savings Bank purchased a new position in Fiserv in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $40,000. Roxbury Financial LLC purchased a new position in Fiserv in the 4th quarter worth approximately $50,000. Finally, Friedenthal Financial purchased a new position in Fiserv in the 4th quarter worth approximately $49,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.98% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have commented on FI. Tigress Financial boosted their price target on shares of Fiserv from $190.00 to $244.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 29th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on shares of Fiserv from $255.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on shares of Fiserv from $208.00 to $231.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 3rd. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Fiserv from $235.00 to $265.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Fiserv from $258.00 to $267.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Two 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. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $239.83.

Fiserv Stock Down 0.8 %

Shares of NYSE FI opened at $232.47 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.06, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86. Fiserv, Inc. has a 12 month low of $145.98 and a 12 month high of $237.99. The firm has a market capitalization of $132.26 billion, a PE ratio of 43.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 0.94. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $213.81 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $198.56.

Fiserv (NYSE:FI) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The business services provider reported $2.51 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.48 by $0.03. Fiserv had a net margin of 15.31% and a return on equity of 17.93%. Equities 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 buyback program on Thursday, February 20th that allows the company to repurchase 60,000,000 outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the business services provider to repurchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are generally a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

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.