Fiserv, Inc. (NYSE:FI) Stake Lowered by Covington Investment Advisors Inc.

Covington Investment Advisors Inc. cut its holdings in Fiserv, Inc. (NYSE:FI) by 0.6% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 97,281 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 630 shares during the quarter. Fiserv accounts for approximately 2.6% of Covington Investment Advisors Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 9th largest position. Covington Investment Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Fiserv were worth $17,477,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Wellington Shields & Co. LLC purchased a new stake in Fiserv during the first quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Clean Yield Group raised its stake in Fiserv by 431.3% in the third quarter. Clean Yield Group now owns 170 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 138 shares during the last quarter. Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Fiserv by 42.5% in the third quarter. Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC now owns 191 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 57 shares during the last quarter. Family Firm Inc. purchased a new stake in Fiserv during the 2nd quarter valued at about $31,000. Finally, Kennebec Savings Bank acquired a new position in Fiserv in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $40,000. 90.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Fiserv Price Performance

NYSE:FI opened at $221.70 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $196.70 and a two-hundred day moving average of $171.47. Fiserv, Inc. has a 12 month low of $125.42 and a 12 month high of $223.22. The firm has a market cap of $126.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 42.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 0.92. The company has a current ratio of 1.07, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85.

Fiserv (NYSE:FI) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The business services provider reported $2.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.26 by $0.04. Fiserv had a return on equity of 17.10% and a net margin of 15.22%. The firm had revenue of $5.22 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.90 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.96 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 7.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect that Fiserv, Inc. will post 8.77 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Fiserv

In related news, CAO Kenneth Best sold 20,821 shares of Fiserv stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $214.61, for a total transaction of $4,468,394.81. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 38,771 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,320,644.31. This trade represents a 34.94 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Heidi Miller sold 30,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $201.13, for a total value of $6,033,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 33,235 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,684,555.55. The trade was a 47.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 235,821 shares of company stock valued at $44,299,745 over the last 90 days. 0.75% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently commented on FI. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Fiserv from $177.00 to $220.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. UBS Group increased their price target on Fiserv from $185.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Tigress Financial boosted their price objective on Fiserv from $190.00 to $244.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 29th. Citigroup raised their target price on Fiserv from $187.00 to $226.00 in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Finally, Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on Fiserv from $186.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, September 23rd. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-one have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $214.29.

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.