Fiserv, Inc. (NYSE:FI) Shares Sold by Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS

Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS trimmed its holdings in shares of Fiserv, Inc. (NYSE:FI) by 3.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 120,969 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 4,361 shares during the period. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS’s holdings in Fiserv were worth $24,849,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Sanders Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Fiserv in the 3rd quarter valued at about $764,543,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Fiserv in the 4th quarter worth approximately $614,982,000. FMR LLC lifted its stake in Fiserv by 17.8% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 9,442,476 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,696,341,000 after purchasing an additional 1,427,664 shares during the last quarter. Madison Investment Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Fiserv during the fourth quarter worth approximately $134,710,000. Finally, Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Fiserv by 788.7% during the third quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC now owns 632,554 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $109,700,000 after buying an additional 561,377 shares in the last quarter. 90.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Fiserv Trading Up 0.6 %

NYSE:FI opened at $221.77 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $124.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 41.15, a P/E/G ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 0.93. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $220.11 and its 200 day moving average price is $205.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a current ratio of 1.06. Fiserv, Inc. has a 52 week low of $145.98 and a 52 week high of $238.59.

Fiserv (NYSE:FI) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The business services provider reported $2.51 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.48 by $0.03. Fiserv had a net margin of 15.31% and a return on equity of 17.93%. On average, research analysts forecast that Fiserv, Inc. will post 10.23 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Fiserv announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback program on Thursday, February 20th that permits the company to repurchase 60,000,000 shares. This repurchase authorization permits the business services provider to repurchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are usually a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, COO Guy Chiarello sold 45,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $235.55, for a total value of $10,599,750.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 227,711 shares in the company, valued at approximately $53,637,326.05. The trade was a 16.50 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Company insiders own 0.75% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently commented on FI. KeyCorp increased their price objective on Fiserv from $250.00 to $270.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on Fiserv from $255.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Fiserv from $240.00 to $270.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Oppenheimer lifted their price target on Fiserv from $214.00 to $239.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Fiserv from $235.00 to $265.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-one have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Fiserv presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $239.83.

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.