HighTower Advisors LLC Purchases 5,214 Shares of Fiserv, Inc. (NYSE:FI)

HighTower Advisors LLC boosted its position in Fiserv, Inc. (NYSE:FI) by 7.6% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 73,772 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 5,214 shares during the quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC’s holdings in Fiserv were worth $15,154,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Jacobi Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Fiserv by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Jacobi Capital Management LLC now owns 11,104 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $2,281,000 after acquiring an additional 44 shares during the last quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust boosted its holdings in Fiserv by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 4,109 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $841,000 after buying an additional 45 shares during the last quarter. Catalina Capital Group LLC boosted its holdings in Fiserv by 2.3% during the fourth quarter. Catalina Capital Group LLC now owns 2,160 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $444,000 after buying an additional 48 shares during the last quarter. Mount Yale Investment Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Fiserv by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. Mount Yale Investment Advisors LLC now owns 4,126 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $848,000 after buying an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hemington Wealth Management boosted its holdings in Fiserv by 6.1% during the fourth quarter. Hemington Wealth Management now owns 864 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $177,000 after buying an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 90.98% of the company’s stock.

Fiserv Stock Up 2.6 %

FI stock opened at $214.91 on Friday. 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 has a 50 day moving average price of $218.96 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $204.64. The company has a market cap of $120.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.87, a P/E/G ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 0.93. Fiserv, Inc. has a twelve month low of $145.98 and a twelve month high of $238.59.

Fiserv (NYSE:FI) last posted its quarterly 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 return on equity of 17.93% and a net margin of 15.31%. Analysts anticipate that Fiserv, Inc. will post 10.23 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Fiserv declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback program on Thursday, February 20th that allows the company to buyback 60,000,000 shares. This buyback authorization allows the business services provider to repurchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs 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 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 in the company, valued at approximately $53,637,326.05. The trade was a 16.50 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.75% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on FI shares. KeyCorp raised their target price on Fiserv from $250.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on Fiserv from $208.00 to $231.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Barclays raised their price target on Fiserv from $235.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Compass Point started coverage on Fiserv in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. They set a “buy” rating and a $278.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Citigroup raised their price target on Fiserv from $230.00 to $233.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Three 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. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $239.83.

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.