Edgemoor Investment Advisors Inc. Purchases 733 Shares of Fiserv, Inc. (NYSE:FI)

Edgemoor Investment Advisors Inc. raised its position in Fiserv, Inc. (NYSE:FI) by 1.8% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 41,887 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 733 shares during the period. Edgemoor Investment Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Fiserv were worth $8,604,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Valley National Advisers Inc. bought a new position in shares of Fiserv during the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. Marshall Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Fiserv during the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. Compass Financial Services Inc bought a new position in shares of Fiserv during the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. Campbell Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Fiserv during the fourth quarter worth about $37,000. Finally, Knuff & Co LLC bought a new position in shares of Fiserv during the fourth quarter worth about $45,000. 90.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded Fiserv from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Citigroup raised their price objective on Fiserv from $230.00 to $233.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Fiserv from $240.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note 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 research note on Tuesday, December 3rd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on Fiserv from $255.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-one have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $239.83.

Fiserv Stock Up 2.6 %

Shares of NYSE:FI opened at $214.91 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $120.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.87, a PEG ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 0.93. The company has a quick ratio of 1.07, a current ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86. Fiserv, Inc. has a 12-month low of $145.98 and a 12-month high of $238.59. The business’s 50 day moving average is $218.96 and its 200 day moving average is $204.87.

Fiserv (NYSE:FI) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The business services provider reported $2.51 EPS for the quarter, topping 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%. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Fiserv, Inc. will post 10.23 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Fiserv announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback plan on Thursday, February 20th that permits the company to repurchase 60,000,000 outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the business services provider to purchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

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.