Fiserv, Inc. (NYSE:FI) Shares Sold by Anchor Investment Management LLC

Anchor Investment Management LLC lessened its position in Fiserv, Inc. (NYSE:FI) by 2.4% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 34,617 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 846 shares during the quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Fiserv were worth $7,111,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Fiserv by 1.9% during 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 buying an additional 218,833 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC raised its stake in Fiserv by 22.5% during the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 11,568,895 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $2,376,482,000 after acquiring an additional 2,126,419 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its position in Fiserv by 16.2% during the 4th quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 8,030,889 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,649,705,000 after acquiring an additional 1,121,597 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Fiserv during the fourth quarter valued at $1,406,452,000. Finally, Alliancebernstein L.P. raised its stake in shares of Fiserv by 65.6% during the fourth quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 5,437,246 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,116,919,000 after purchasing an additional 2,153,554 shares in the last quarter. 90.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, COO Guy Chiarello sold 45,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 0.75% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have commented on FI shares. Citigroup raised their target price on shares of Fiserv from $230.00 to $233.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Monness Crespi & Hardt downgraded Fiserv from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $145.00 target price for the company. in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded Fiserv from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $246.00 to $260.00 in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Seaport Res Ptn raised Fiserv from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, Oppenheimer lifted their target price on Fiserv from $214.00 to $239.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, December 19th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating, twenty-two have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $239.35.

Fiserv Stock Performance

FI stock opened at $212.44 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $118.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.41, a P/E/G ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 0.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a current ratio of 1.06. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $220.94 and a 200 day simple moving average of $210.90. Fiserv, Inc. has a 52 week low of $145.98 and a 52 week high of $238.59.

Fiserv (NYSE:FI) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The business services provider reported $2.51 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%. Research analysts anticipate that Fiserv, Inc. will post 10.23 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Fiserv announced that its board has approved a stock buyback program on Thursday, February 20th that allows the company to repurchase 60,000,000 shares. This repurchase authorization allows the business services provider to purchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are typically a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is 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.