Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd Has $920,000 Stake in Fiserv, Inc. (NYSE:FI)

Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd lowered its stake in shares of Fiserv, Inc. (NYSE:FI) by 49.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 4,477 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 4,321 shares during the quarter. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd’s holdings in Fiserv were worth $920,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of FI. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Fiserv by 1.9% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 11,891,207 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $2,435,280,000 after purchasing an additional 218,833 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its position in shares of Fiserv by 16.2% in the 4th quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 8,030,889 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,649,705,000 after buying an additional 1,121,597 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Fiserv during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,406,452,000. Alliancebernstein L.P. boosted its position in shares of Fiserv by 65.6% during the 4th quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 5,437,246 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,116,919,000 after acquiring an additional 2,153,554 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its stake in Fiserv by 4.7% in the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 3,711,072 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $762,328,000 after acquiring an additional 164,949 shares during the last quarter. 90.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have weighed in on FI. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Fiserv from $240.00 to $270.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded Fiserv from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on shares of Fiserv from $233.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Fiserv from $258.00 to $267.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on shares of Fiserv from $255.00 to $270.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-two have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $243.64.

Insider Activity

In other news, COO Guy Chiarello sold 45,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $235.55, for a total value of $10,599,750.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 227,711 shares in the company, valued at $53,637,326.05. This trade represents a 16.50 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.75% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Fiserv Price Performance

FI stock opened at $198.77 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 company’s fifty day simple moving average is $222.85 and its 200 day simple moving average is $209.42. Fiserv, Inc. has a 12-month low of $145.98 and a 12-month high of $238.59. The firm has a market cap of $111.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.88, a PEG ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 0.91.

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

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

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.