Renaissance Group LLC Cuts Position in Fiserv, Inc. (NYSE:FI)

Renaissance Group LLC decreased its stake in Fiserv, Inc. (NYSE:FI) by 13.2% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 178,385 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 27,089 shares during the quarter. Fiserv accounts for approximately 1.5% of Renaissance Group LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 17th biggest position. Renaissance Group LLC’s holdings in Fiserv were worth $36,675,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Valley National Advisers Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Fiserv during the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. Marshall Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Fiserv during the fourth quarter worth $29,000. Compass Financial Services Inc purchased a new stake in Fiserv during the fourth quarter worth $31,000. Campbell Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Fiserv in the fourth quarter valued at $37,000. Finally, Knuff & Co LLC acquired a new stake in Fiserv in the fourth quarter valued at $45,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.98% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Fiserv from $235.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Susquehanna lifted their target price 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. Oppenheimer increased their price target on shares of Fiserv from $214.00 to $239.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Citigroup lifted their price objective on Fiserv from $230.00 to $233.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, StockNews.com assumed coverage on Fiserv in a research note on Sunday, March 23rd. They issued a “buy” rating on the stock. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-two have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $243.64.

Insider Transactions at Fiserv

In other news, COO Guy Chiarello sold 45,000 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 227,711 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $53,637,326.05. This represents a 16.50 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.75% of the company’s stock.

Fiserv Stock Performance

Shares of FI stock opened at $198.07 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $111.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 0.91. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $222.55 and a 200 day moving average price of $209.79. Fiserv, Inc. has a one year low of $145.98 and a one year high of $238.59. 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 (NYSE:FI) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The business services provider reported $2.51 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.48 by $0.03. Fiserv had a return on equity of 17.93% and a net margin of 15.31%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Fiserv, Inc. will post 10.23 EPS for the current year.

Fiserv declared that its board has approved a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, February 20th that authorizes the company to repurchase 60,000,000 outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the business services provider to repurchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company’s board of directors 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.