Fairfield Bush & CO. Increases Stake in Fiserv, Inc. (NYSE:FI)

Fairfield Bush & CO. raised its position in shares of Fiserv, Inc. (NYSE:FI) by 28.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,450 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 320 shares during the quarter. Fairfield Bush & CO.’s holdings in Fiserv were worth $298,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Fiserv in the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,406,452,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of Fiserv during the fourth quarter valued at $614,982,000. Alliancebernstein L.P. grew its position in Fiserv by 65.6% during 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 during the last quarter. FMR LLC increased its stake in Fiserv by 22.5% during the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 11,568,895 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $2,376,482,000 after purchasing an additional 2,126,419 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Winslow Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Fiserv in the fourth quarter worth about $363,031,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.98% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Fiserv

In other news, COO Guy Chiarello sold 45,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $235.55, for a total transaction of $10,599,750.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 227,711 shares in the company, valued at approximately $53,637,326.05. This represents a 16.50 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.75% of the company’s stock.

Fiserv Stock Down 1.2 %

NYSE FI opened at $210.30 on Thursday. Fiserv, Inc. has a 12 month low of $145.98 and a 12 month high of $238.59. The company has a current ratio of 1.06, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86. The stock has a market cap of $117.47 billion, a PE ratio of 39.02, a P/E/G ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 0.91. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $220.18 and its 200 day moving average is $210.91.

Fiserv (NYSE:FI) last released its earnings results 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%. Research analysts predict that Fiserv, Inc. will post 10.23 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Fiserv declared that its board has approved a stock buyback plan on Thursday, February 20th that allows the company to buyback 60,000,000 shares. This buyback authorization allows 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 leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

FI has been the topic of several analyst reports. StockNews.com started coverage on Fiserv in a research report on Sunday, March 23rd. They issued a “buy” rating on the stock. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on Fiserv from $233.00 to $260.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded shares of Fiserv from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Fiserv from $235.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Monness Crespi & Hardt lowered shares of Fiserv from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $145.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating, twenty-two have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $238.48.

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.