Bahl & Gaynor Inc. Takes $9.41 Million Position in Fiserv, Inc. (NYSE:FI)

Bahl & Gaynor Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Fiserv, Inc. (NYSE:FI) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 70,830 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $9,409,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Meritage Portfolio Management purchased a new position in shares of Fiserv in the 4th quarter worth about $995,000. Piscataqua Savings Bank purchased a new stake in Fiserv during the 4th quarter valued at about $67,000. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in Fiserv during the 4th quarter valued at about $78,000. Liberty Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Fiserv during the 4th quarter valued at about $7,071,000. Finally, Birch Hill Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Fiserv during the 4th quarter valued at about $84,583,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.98% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently weighed in on FI. TD Cowen increased their target price on Fiserv from $167.00 to $175.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday. Barclays increased their price objective on Fiserv from $165.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, April 1st. StockNews.com began coverage on Fiserv in a report on Saturday, February 3rd. They issued a “buy” rating for the company. Susquehanna increased their price objective on Fiserv from $175.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a report on Monday, March 25th. Finally, UBS Group increased their price objective on Fiserv from $170.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Fiserv presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $164.33.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Fiserv news, COO Guy Chiarello sold 23,929 shares of Fiserv stock in a transaction on Monday, April 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $151.79, for a total value of $3,632,182.91. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 163,699 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $24,847,871.21. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In the last quarter, insiders sold 111,575 shares of company stock valued at $17,022,387. Corporate insiders own 0.75% of the company’s stock.

Fiserv Stock Up 1.7 %

FI stock traded up $2.60 on Friday, reaching $155.89. 3,193,339 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,565,740. Fiserv, Inc. has a one year low of $109.11 and a one year high of $159.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 1.06 and a quick ratio of 1.04. The company has a market cap of $91.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 0.91. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $152.54 and a 200-day simple moving average of $137.74.

Fiserv (NYSE:FI) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 23rd. The business services provider reported $1.88 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.77 by $0.11. Fiserv had a return on equity of 15.73% and a net margin of 16.68%. The company had revenue of $4.88 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.57 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.58 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.4% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate that Fiserv, Inc. will post 8.67 earnings per share for the current year.

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.