Fiserv, Inc. (NYSE:FI) Shares Purchased by Arete Wealth Advisors LLC

Arete Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Fiserv, Inc. (NYSE:FI) by 16.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,881 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 261 shares during the quarter. Arete Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Fiserv were worth $387,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of FI. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Fiserv during the fourth quarter valued at $1,406,452,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in Fiserv in the 4th quarter valued at about $614,982,000. Alliancebernstein L.P. boosted its stake in shares of Fiserv by 65.6% during the 4th quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 5,437,246 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,116,919,000 after purchasing an additional 2,153,554 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its stake in shares of Fiserv by 16.2% during the 4th 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 purchasing an additional 1,121,597 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Madison Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Fiserv during the fourth quarter worth about $134,710,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.98% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, COO Guy Chiarello sold 45,000 shares of the company’s 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $53,637,326.05. This represents a 16.50 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.75% of the company’s stock.

Fiserv Stock Performance

Shares of FI opened at $198.77 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $111.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.88, a PEG ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 0.91. The company has a quick ratio of 1.07, a current ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86. The business’s 50 day moving average is $222.85 and its two-hundred day moving average is $209.42. Fiserv, Inc. has a 52-week low of $145.98 and a 52-week high of $238.59.

Fiserv (NYSE:FI) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The business services provider reported $2.51 EPS 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%. Analysts forecast that Fiserv, Inc. will post 10.23 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Fiserv declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback program on Thursday, February 20th that authorizes the company to buyback 60,000,000 shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the business services provider to repurchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on FI. StockNews.com started coverage on shares of Fiserv in a research report on Sunday, March 23rd. They set a “buy” rating on the stock. Barclays raised their price objective on Fiserv from $235.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. Oppenheimer upped their target price on Fiserv from $214.00 to $239.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Fiserv from $240.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, KeyCorp upped their price objective on shares of Fiserv from $250.00 to $270.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-two have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Fiserv has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $243.64.

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.