Fiserv (NYSE:FI) to Repurchase 60,000,000 Outstanding Stock

Fiserv (NYSE:FI) announced that its board has authorized a share buyback program on Thursday, February 20th, RTT News reports. The company plans to buyback 60,000,000 shares. This buyback authorization permits the business services provider to purchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on FI shares. TD Cowen increased their price target on shares of Fiserv from $200.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on shares of Fiserv from $238.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on shares of Fiserv from $208.00 to $231.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 3rd. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Fiserv from $185.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Tigress Financial increased their price target on shares of Fiserv from $190.00 to $244.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 29th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-two have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Fiserv presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $239.83.

Fiserv Stock Down 0.7 %

Shares of NYSE:FI traded down $1.71 during trading on Thursday, reaching $234.63. 3,688,312 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,738,570. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $213.26 and a two-hundred day moving average of $197.74. Fiserv has a 52-week low of $145.98 and a 52-week high of $238.00. 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 stock has a market cap of $133.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 43.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.53 and a beta of 0.94.

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 analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.48 by $0.03. Fiserv had a net margin of 15.31% and a return on equity of 17.93%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Fiserv will post 10.23 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, COO Guy Chiarello sold 45,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $235.55, for a total value of $10,599,750.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 227,711 shares in the company, valued at approximately $53,637,326.05. This trade represents a 16.50 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.75% of the company’s stock.

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.