Aviva PLC Boosts Stake in Fiserv, Inc. (NYSE:FI)

Aviva PLC raised its holdings in Fiserv, Inc. (NYSE:FI) by 7.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 346,821 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 25,256 shares during the period. Aviva PLC’s holdings in Fiserv were worth $71,244,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of FI. Czech National Bank increased its stake in Fiserv by 5.2% in the fourth quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 123,353 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $25,339,000 after acquiring an additional 6,072 shares during the last quarter. Chiron Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Fiserv during the 3rd quarter valued at about $4,709,000. Trust Co. of Vermont raised its holdings in shares of 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 buying an additional 4,310 shares in the last quarter. Cardano Risk Management B.V. bought a new stake in Fiserv in the 4th quarter worth approximately $97,254,000. Finally, M&T Bank Corp boosted its stake in Fiserv by 12.0% in the third quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 140,460 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $25,234,000 after buying an additional 15,103 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 90.98% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded shares of Fiserv from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Fiserv from $235.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. KeyCorp raised their price objective on Fiserv from $250.00 to $270.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Oppenheimer boosted their target price on Fiserv from $214.00 to $239.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, Citigroup lifted their price target on Fiserv from $230.00 to $233.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-two have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Fiserv has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $243.64.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Fiserv news, COO Guy Chiarello sold 45,000 shares of Fiserv stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $235.55, for a total transaction of $10,599,750.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 227,711 shares in the company, valued at approximately $53,637,326.05. The trade was a 16.50 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.75% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Fiserv Stock Performance

Shares of Fiserv stock opened at $198.77 on Friday. Fiserv, Inc. has a 12 month low of $145.98 and a 12 month high of $238.59. The firm has a market capitalization of $111.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.88, a P/E/G ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 0.91. The company has a current ratio of 1.06, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $222.85 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $209.42.

Fiserv (NYSE:FI) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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, equities analysts forecast that Fiserv, Inc. will post 10.23 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Fiserv declared that its board has initiated a stock repurchase program on Thursday, February 20th that authorizes the company to repurchase 60,000,000 shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the business services provider to buy shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are generally an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Fiserv Profile

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.