Private Advisor Group LLC Increases Stock Position in Fiserv, Inc. (NYSE:FI)

Private Advisor Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Fiserv, Inc. (NYSE:FI) by 47.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 30,349 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 9,828 shares during the quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC’s holdings in Fiserv were worth $6,234,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. FMR LLC lifted its stake in Fiserv by 17.8% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 9,442,476 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,696,341,000 after purchasing an additional 1,427,664 shares in the last quarter. Sanders Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Fiserv in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $764,543,000. Barclays PLC lifted its stake in Fiserv by 3.0% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 1,685,157 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $302,737,000 after purchasing an additional 48,413 shares in the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. lifted its stake in Fiserv by 0.3% in the 3rd quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 1,317,778 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $236,739,000 after purchasing an additional 4,218 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Provident Trust Co. lifted its stake in Fiserv by 15.8% in the 4th quarter. Provident Trust Co. now owns 1,278,089 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $262,545,000 after purchasing an additional 174,505 shares in the last quarter. 90.98% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

FI has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Tigress Financial increased their price target on shares of Fiserv from $190.00 to $244.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 29th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on shares of Fiserv from $255.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Susquehanna increased their price target on shares of Fiserv from $230.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Fiserv from $240.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Stephens increased their price target on shares of Fiserv from $255.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-two have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $239.83.

Fiserv Price Performance

FI stock opened at $232.47 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $213.81 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $198.28. Fiserv, Inc. has a 12-month low of $145.98 and a 12-month high of $237.99. The stock has a market capitalization of $132.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 43.13, a PEG ratio of 1.53 and a beta of 0.94. 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 (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, 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, equities analysts predict that Fiserv, Inc. will post 10.23 earnings per share for the current year.

Fiserv announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase plan on Thursday, February 20th that authorizes the company to buyback 60,000,000 outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the business services provider to reacquire shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are often a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at Fiserv

In other news, COO Guy Chiarello sold 45,000 shares of Fiserv stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chief operating officer now owns 227,711 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $53,637,326.05. The trade was a 16.50 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate 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.