Covey Capital Advisors LLC Reduces Holdings in Fiserv, Inc. (NYSE:FI)

Covey Capital Advisors LLC reduced its stake in Fiserv, Inc. (NYSE:FI) by 3.3% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 12,577 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 430 shares during the period. Fiserv accounts for about 2.5% of Covey Capital Advisors LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 13th largest position. Covey Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings in Fiserv were worth $2,259,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Quent Capital LLC grew its stake in shares of Fiserv by 5.9% in the first quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 1,211 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $194,000 after purchasing an additional 68 shares during the last quarter. Hancock Whitney Corp purchased a new stake in Fiserv in the 1st quarter worth approximately $201,000. LRI Investments LLC bought a new stake in shares of Fiserv in the 1st quarter worth approximately $48,000. Cetera Investment Advisers increased its stake in shares of Fiserv by 163.7% during the first quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 99,035 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $15,828,000 after buying an additional 61,480 shares during the period. Finally, Cetera Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Fiserv by 48.9% during the first quarter. Cetera Advisors LLC now owns 16,765 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $2,679,000 after acquiring an additional 5,508 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 90.98% of the company’s stock.

Fiserv Stock Performance

FI stock opened at $220.59 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $199.38 and its 200 day simple moving average is $172.62. The company has a current ratio of 1.07, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85. Fiserv, Inc. has a 12-month low of $126.68 and a 12-month high of $223.23. The stock has a market capitalization of $125.50 billion, a PE ratio of 42.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.92.

Fiserv (NYSE:FI) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The business services provider reported $2.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.26 by $0.04. Fiserv had a return on equity of 17.10% and a net margin of 15.22%. The firm had revenue of $5.22 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.90 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.96 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 7.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts forecast that Fiserv, Inc. will post 8.77 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently weighed in on FI shares. TD Cowen lifted their price target on shares of Fiserv from $200.00 to $230.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on shares of Fiserv from $195.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on shares of Fiserv from $222.00 to $232.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, November 18th. Citigroup lifted their price objective on Fiserv from $187.00 to $226.00 in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Fiserv from $199.00 to $227.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-one have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $214.29.

Insider Buying and Selling at Fiserv

In other news, CAO Kenneth Best sold 20,821 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $214.61, for a total transaction of $4,468,394.81. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 38,771 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,320,644.31. This represents a 34.94 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Frank Bisignano sold 145,000 shares of Fiserv stock in a transaction on Friday, September 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $177.37, for a total value of $25,718,650.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2,965,084 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $525,916,949.08. The trade was a 4.66 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 235,821 shares of company stock worth $44,299,745. Company insiders own 0.75% of the company’s stock.

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.