Madison Investment Advisors LLC Acquires New Holdings in Fiserv, Inc. (NYSE:FI)

Madison Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Fiserv, Inc. (NYSE:FI) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 655,777 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $134,710,000. Fiserv accounts for approximately 1.5% of Madison Investment Advisors LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 11th biggest position. Madison Investment Advisors LLC owned 0.12% of Fiserv as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. FMR LLC lifted its stake in Fiserv by 17.8% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 9,442,476 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,696,341,000 after buying an additional 1,427,664 shares in the last quarter. Sanders Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Fiserv in the third quarter worth $764,543,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its position in shares of Fiserv by 4.7% in the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 3,711,072 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $762,328,000 after purchasing an additional 164,949 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Fiserv by 2.6% in 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 purchasing an additional 90,475 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Fiserv in the fourth quarter worth $614,982,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.98% of the company’s stock.

Fiserv Price Performance

FI stock opened at $211.10 on Thursday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $218.77 and a 200 day simple moving average of $204.05. The stock has a market cap of $118.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.17, a P/E/G ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 0.93. Fiserv, Inc. has a 1 year low of $145.98 and a 1 year high of $238.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 1.06 and a quick ratio of 1.07.

Fiserv (NYSE:FI) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The business services provider reported $2.51 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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%. Research analysts anticipate that Fiserv, Inc. will post 10.23 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Fiserv announced that its board has approved a share buyback plan on Thursday, February 20th that permits the company to repurchase 60,000,000 outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the business services provider to repurchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at Fiserv

In other Fiserv news, COO Guy Chiarello sold 45,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 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 sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.75% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have issued reports on FI. StockNews.com lowered shares of Fiserv from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Fiserv from $258.00 to $267.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on shares of Fiserv from $208.00 to $231.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Compass Point initiated coverage on shares of Fiserv in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. They set a “buy” rating and a $278.00 target price for the company. Finally, Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of Fiserv from $230.00 to $233.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-one have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $239.83.

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.