Banco BTG Pactual S.A. Takes $616,000 Position in Fiserv, Inc. (NYSE:FI)

Banco BTG Pactual S.A. acquired a new position in shares of Fiserv, Inc. (NYSE:FI) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 2,992 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $616,000.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. FMR LLC boosted its stake in Fiserv by 17.8% during 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 period. Sanders Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Fiserv in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $764,543,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its stake in Fiserv by 4.7% during the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 3,711,072 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $762,328,000 after purchasing an additional 164,949 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Fiserv by 2.6% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,620,785 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $743,782,000 after buying an additional 90,475 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in Fiserv in the fourth quarter worth approximately $614,982,000. Institutional investors own 90.98% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Fiserv

In other Fiserv news, COO Guy Chiarello sold 45,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on 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 in the company, valued at $53,637,326.05. This trade represents a 16.50 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 0.75% of the company’s stock.

Fiserv Stock Up 0.4 %

Shares of Fiserv stock opened at $222.65 on Wednesday. Fiserv, Inc. has a 12-month low of $145.98 and a 12-month high of $238.59. 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 stock has a 50 day moving average price of $221.23 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $207.18. The stock has a market capitalization of $124.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 41.31, a PEG ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 0.93.

Fiserv (NYSE:FI) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The business services provider reported $2.51 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 repurchase program on Thursday, February 20th that permits the company to buyback 60,000,000 outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the business services provider to repurchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

FI has been the subject of several research reports. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Fiserv from $258.00 to $267.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Susquehanna lifted their price target on Fiserv from $230.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Stephens upped their price objective on shares of Fiserv from $255.00 to $270.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on shares of Fiserv from $255.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Seaport Res Ptn upgraded shares of Fiserv from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Three research 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Fiserv currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $239.83.

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.