Fiserv, Inc. (NYSE:FI) Shares Purchased by Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund

Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund increased its position in shares of Fiserv, Inc. (NYSE:FI) by 13.4% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 107,283 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 12,700 shares during the quarter. Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund’s holdings in Fiserv were worth $22,038,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Sanders Capital LLC purchased a new position in Fiserv in the 3rd quarter worth about $764,543,000. FMR LLC boosted its position in Fiserv by 17.8% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 9,442,476 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,696,341,000 after acquiring an additional 1,427,664 shares during the period. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC boosted its position in Fiserv by 788.7% during the 3rd quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC now owns 632,554 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $109,700,000 after acquiring an additional 561,377 shares during the period. Mizuho Securities USA LLC boosted its position in Fiserv by 1,238.6% during the 3rd quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 603,887 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $108,488,000 after acquiring an additional 558,774 shares during the period. Finally, Cardano Risk Management B.V. acquired a new stake in shares of Fiserv during the 4th quarter valued at about $97,254,000. 90.98% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, COO Guy Chiarello sold 45,000 shares of Fiserv stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 227,711 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $53,637,326.05. This trade represents a 16.50 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.75% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Fiserv Stock Down 0.8 %

NYSE:FI opened at $232.47 on Friday. 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 company has a market cap of $132.26 billion, a PE ratio of 43.13, a PEG ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 0.94. Fiserv, Inc. has a 52-week low of $145.98 and a 52-week high of $237.99. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $213.81 and a 200 day simple moving average of $198.56.

Fiserv (NYSE:FI) last issued 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 return on equity of 17.93% and a net margin of 15.31%. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Fiserv, Inc. will post 10.23 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Fiserv declared that its board has approved a share buyback program on Thursday, February 20th that authorizes the company to buyback 60,000,000 outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the business services provider to reacquire shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

FI has been the subject of several research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on Fiserv from $208.00 to $231.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded Fiserv from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on Fiserv from $238.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. KeyCorp boosted their target price on Fiserv from $250.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Fiserv from $240.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-two have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $239.83.

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.