Fiserv, Inc. (NYSE:FI) Given Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Fiserv, Inc. (NYSE:FI) has received a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty-six ratings firms that are covering the company, MarketBeat reports. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, twenty-one have assigned a buy recommendation and two have assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $224.00.

FI has been the subject of several recent research reports. Citigroup upped their target price on shares of Fiserv from $230.00 to $233.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on shares of Fiserv from $222.00 to $232.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, November 18th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on Fiserv from $195.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Fiserv from $220.00 to $258.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. Finally, Seaport Res Ptn raised Fiserv from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th.

Insider Activity at Fiserv

In other Fiserv news, Director Heidi Miller sold 30,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $201.13, for a total value of $6,033,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 33,235 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,684,555.55. This represents a 47.44 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CAO Kenneth Best sold 20,821 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $214.61, for a total transaction of $4,468,394.81. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 38,771 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,320,644.31. This trade represents a 34.94 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.75% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Fiserv

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Soros Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Fiserv by 71.7% during the third quarter. Soros Capital Management LLC now owns 54,797 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $9,844,000 after buying an additional 22,884 shares during the last quarter. Czech National Bank grew its position in Fiserv by 5.2% in the 4th quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 123,353 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $25,339,000 after purchasing an additional 6,072 shares during the period. Chiron Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Fiserv during the third quarter worth about $4,709,000. Trust Co. of Vermont increased its holdings in Fiserv by 170.4% during the 4th quarter. Trust Co. of Vermont now owns 6,839 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,405,000 after purchasing an additional 4,310 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cardano Risk Management B.V. purchased a new stake in Fiserv in the 4th quarter valued at $97,254,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.98% of the company’s stock.

Fiserv Stock Down 1.5 %

Shares of NYSE:FI opened at $206.35 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.07, a current ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85. The firm has a market cap of $117.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.68, a P/E/G ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 0.94. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $209.15 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $188.28. Fiserv has a 12 month low of $137.13 and a 12 month high of $223.23.

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

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.