Dodge & Cox Has $6.61 Billion Stake in Fiserv, Inc. (NYSE:FI)

Dodge & Cox cut its holdings in Fiserv, Inc. (NYSE:FI) by 1.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 32,192,395 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 531,372 shares during the quarter. Fiserv comprises about 3.8% of Dodge & Cox’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 2nd biggest holding. Dodge & Cox owned 5.66% of Fiserv worth $6,612,962,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of FI. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Fiserv by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 11,891,207 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $2,435,280,000 after buying an additional 218,833 shares during the period. FMR LLC grew its position in Fiserv by 22.5% in the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 11,568,895 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,376,482,000 after purchasing an additional 2,126,419 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its position in Fiserv by 16.2% during the fourth quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 8,030,889 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,649,705,000 after buying an additional 1,121,597 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Fiserv in the fourth quarter valued at $1,406,452,000. Finally, Alliancebernstein L.P. boosted its stake in shares of Fiserv by 65.6% in the 4th quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 5,437,246 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,116,919,000 after purchasing an additional 2,153,554 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 90.98% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, COO Guy Chiarello sold 45,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $235.55, for a total transaction of $10,599,750.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now 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 sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.75% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Fiserv Stock Up 2.1 %

Fiserv stock opened at $212.44 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $118.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.41, a PEG ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 0.91. Fiserv, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $145.98 and a fifty-two week high of $238.59. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $220.94 and a 200-day simple moving average of $210.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a current ratio of 1.06.

Fiserv (NYSE:FI) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 15.31% and a return on equity of 17.93%. Equities research analysts expect that Fiserv, Inc. will post 10.23 earnings per share for the current year.

Fiserv announced that its board has initiated a share buyback plan on Thursday, February 20th that permits the company to buyback 60,000,000 outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the business services provider to reacquire shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are usually a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

FI has been the topic of several analyst reports. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Fiserv from $235.00 to $265.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. StockNews.com assumed coverage on shares of Fiserv in a report on Sunday, March 23rd. They set a “buy” rating on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective 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. KeyCorp raised their price objective on Fiserv from $250.00 to $270.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Citigroup increased their price target on shares of Fiserv from $230.00 to $233.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating, twenty-two have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $239.35.

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.