Fiserv, Inc. (NYSE:FI) Stake Lowered by Farther Finance Advisors LLC

Farther Finance Advisors LLC reduced its stake in shares of Fiserv, Inc. (NYSE:FI) by 2.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 7,569 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 213 shares during the period. Farther Finance Advisors LLC’s holdings in Fiserv were worth $1,555,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. Knuff & Co LLC bought a new stake in Fiserv in the fourth quarter worth $45,000. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Fiserv by 5.0% in the fourth quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 64,979 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $13,348,000 after purchasing an additional 3,093 shares in the last quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Fiserv by 7.6% in the fourth quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 73,772 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $15,154,000 after purchasing an additional 5,214 shares in the last quarter. Natural Investments LLC bought a new stake in Fiserv in the fourth quarter worth $267,000. Finally, AGF Management Ltd. boosted its holdings in Fiserv by 19.7% in the fourth quarter. AGF Management Ltd. now owns 104,653 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $21,498,000 after purchasing an additional 17,225 shares in the last quarter. 90.98% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

FI has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of Fiserv from $230.00 to $233.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. KeyCorp upped their price objective on shares of Fiserv from $250.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Fiserv from $235.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Susquehanna boosted their target price on shares of Fiserv from $230.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on shares of Fiserv from $208.00 to $231.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-one have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $239.83.

Fiserv Stock Performance

NYSE FI opened at $209.23 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $117.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.82, a PEG ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 0.93. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $218.83 and its 200 day simple moving average is $204.09. Fiserv, Inc. has a twelve month low of $145.98 and a twelve 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.

Fiserv (NYSE:FI) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The business services provider reported $2.51 earnings per share 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%. As a group, research analysts forecast that Fiserv, Inc. will post 10.23 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Fiserv announced that its board has authorized a stock buyback program on Thursday, February 20th that permits the company to buyback 60,000,000 shares. This buyback authorization permits the business services provider to reacquire shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity at Fiserv

In other news, COO Guy Chiarello sold 45,000 shares of the firm’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 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 approximately $53,637,326.05. This trade represents a 16.50 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 0.75% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.