Howe & Rusling Inc. Reduces Holdings in Fiserv, Inc. (NYSE:FI)

Howe & Rusling Inc. reduced its stake in Fiserv, Inc. (NYSE:FI) by 8.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 41,334 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 3,779 shares during the quarter. Howe & Rusling Inc.’s holdings in Fiserv were worth $8,491,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of FI. Soros Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of 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 period. Czech National Bank raised its stake in Fiserv by 5.2% in the 4th quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 123,353 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $25,339,000 after acquiring an additional 6,072 shares during the last quarter. Chiron Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Fiserv during the 3rd quarter valued at about $4,709,000. Trust Co. of Vermont grew its stake 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 valued at $1,405,000 after purchasing an additional 4,310 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cardano Risk Management B.V. purchased a new position in shares of Fiserv in the fourth quarter worth about $97,254,000. 90.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In related news, COO Guy Chiarello sold 45,000 shares of the company’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 sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 227,711 shares in the company, valued at approximately $53,637,326.05. This represents a 16.50 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.75% of the company’s stock.

Fiserv Stock Performance

NYSE FI opened at $221.75 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 1.06 and a quick ratio of 1.07. The company has a market cap of $124.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 41.14, a P/E/G ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 0.93. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $221.58 and a two-hundred day moving average of $207.28. Fiserv, Inc. has a 1-year low of $145.98 and a 1-year high of $238.59.

Fiserv (NYSE:FI) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The business services provider reported $2.51 earnings per share 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%. As a group, analysts anticipate that Fiserv, Inc. will post 10.23 EPS for the current year.

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

FI has been the topic of several recent research reports. Seaport Res Ptn raised shares of Fiserv from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Oppenheimer upped their price objective on Fiserv from $214.00 to $239.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on shares of Fiserv from $255.00 to $270.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. 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 report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Susquehanna upped their price objective on shares of Fiserv from $230.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Fiserv currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $242.32.

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.