Freestone Capital Holdings LLC Lowers Stock Position in Fiserv, Inc. (NYSE:FI)

Freestone Capital Holdings LLC lowered its stake in shares of Fiserv, Inc. (NYSE:FI) by 1.2% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 8,610 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 103 shares during the period. Freestone Capital Holdings LLC’s holdings in Fiserv were worth $1,769,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Catalina Capital Group LLC boosted its stake in Fiserv by 9.5% during the third quarter. Catalina Capital Group LLC now owns 2,112 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $379,000 after buying an additional 184 shares during the period. 1834 Investment Advisors Co. purchased a new position in Fiserv during the 3rd quarter valued at about $310,000. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Fiserv by 9.8% during the 3rd quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC now owns 12,342 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $2,217,000 after purchasing an additional 1,105 shares during the period. Two Point Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in Fiserv by 1.2% during the 3rd quarter. Two Point Capital Management Inc. now owns 50,611 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $9,092,000 after acquiring an additional 590 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Graypoint LLC boosted its position in Fiserv by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter. Graypoint LLC now owns 27,077 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $4,864,000 after acquiring an additional 478 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 90.98% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently commented on FI. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on Fiserv from $208.00 to $231.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 3rd. StockNews.com lowered shares of Fiserv from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on Fiserv from $233.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Susquehanna upped their price objective on Fiserv from $230.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Barclays upped their target price on shares of Fiserv from $235.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-one have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $239.83.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other 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 transaction of $10,599,750.00. Following the transaction, 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 0.75% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Fiserv Stock Performance

Fiserv stock opened at $219.75 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 1.06 and a quick ratio of 1.07. Fiserv, Inc. has a 1-year low of $145.98 and a 1-year high of $238.59. The firm has a market capitalization of $123.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 0.93. The company’s 50-day moving average is $218.11 and its 200 day moving average is $202.53.

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

Fiserv declared that its Board of Directors 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 repurchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually an indication that the company’s board 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.