Teacher Retirement System of Texas Raises Stock Position in Fiserv, Inc. (NYSE:FI)

Teacher Retirement System of Texas boosted its position in shares of Fiserv, Inc. (NYSE:FI) by 17.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 182,010 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 27,478 shares during the period. Teacher Retirement System of Texas’ holdings in Fiserv were worth $37,388,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Valley National Advisers Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Fiserv in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Marshall Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Fiserv in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Compass Financial Services Inc purchased a new stake in shares of Fiserv in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Campbell Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Fiserv in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Finally, Knuff & Co LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Fiserv in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $45,000. 90.98% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, COO Guy Chiarello sold 45,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 227,711 shares in the company, valued at approximately $53,637,326.05. This represents a 16.50 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 0.75% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of Fiserv from $258.00 to $267.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Fiserv from $240.00 to $270.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Fiserv from $235.00 to $265.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. Stephens lifted their price objective on shares of Fiserv from $255.00 to $270.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on shares of Fiserv from $255.00 to $270.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-one have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $239.83.

Fiserv Trading Up 0.6 %

Shares of Fiserv stock opened at $221.77 on Friday. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $220.11 and a 200-day simple moving average of $205.70. Fiserv, Inc. has a 12-month low of $145.98 and a 12-month high of $238.59. The company has a current ratio of 1.06, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86. The stock has a market cap of $124.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.15, a PEG ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 0.93.

Fiserv (NYSE:FI) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The business services provider reported $2.51 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.48 by $0.03. Fiserv had a net margin of 15.31% and a return on equity of 17.93%. On average, equities analysts forecast that Fiserv, Inc. will post 10.23 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Fiserv announced that its board has approved a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, February 20th that allows the company to repurchase 60,000,000 shares. This repurchase authorization allows the business services provider to reacquire shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

About Fiserv

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.