Visualize Group LP Makes New Investment in Fiserv, Inc. (NYSE:FI)

Visualize Group LP bought a new position in shares of Fiserv, Inc. (NYSE:FI) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 76,000 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $15,612,000. Fiserv accounts for 9.9% of Visualize Group LP’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 5th biggest position.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Meiji Yasuda Life Insurance Co bought a new position in shares of Fiserv in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $562,000. Cypress Advisory Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Fiserv in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $2,215,000. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV boosted its position in shares of Fiserv by 13.5% in the fourth quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 183,795 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $37,755,000 after acquiring an additional 21,861 shares during the period. Sulzberger Capital Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of Fiserv in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $247,000. Finally, Freestone Grove Partners LP bought a new position in shares of Fiserv in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $683,000. 90.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Fiserv news, COO Guy Chiarello sold 45,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 227,711 shares in the company, valued at $53,637,326.05. This trade represents a 16.50 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.75% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. Susquehanna cut their price target on shares of Fiserv from $250.00 to $240.00 and set a “positive” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 25th. BMO Capital Markets reduced their target price on Fiserv from $254.00 to $232.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 25th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised Fiserv from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the company from $246.00 to $260.00 in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. UBS Group reduced their target price on Fiserv from $265.00 to $255.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Finally, KeyCorp increased their target price on Fiserv from $250.00 to $270.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given 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.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $230.00.

Fiserv Stock Performance

Fiserv stock opened at $183.12 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.06, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86. Fiserv, Inc. has a 1-year low of $146.25 and a 1-year high of $238.59. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $212.00 and a 200-day moving average of $211.59. The firm has a market cap of $102.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.97, a P/E/G ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 0.91.

Fiserv (NYSE:FI) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 24th. The business services provider reported $2.14 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.08 by $0.06. Fiserv had a net margin of 15.31% and a return on equity of 17.93%. The business had revenue of $4.79 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.86 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.88 earnings per share. Fiserv’s quarterly revenue was up 5.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts expect that Fiserv, Inc. will post 10.23 EPS for the current year.

Fiserv declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share 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 buy shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are usually a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Fiserv 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.