CenterBook Partners LP Increases Stake in Fiserv, Inc. (NYSE:FI)

CenterBook Partners LP increased its holdings in Fiserv, Inc. (NYSE:FI) by 420.4% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 18,171 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 14,679 shares during the quarter. CenterBook Partners LP’s holdings in Fiserv were worth $3,733,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. DRW Securities LLC increased its holdings in shares of Fiserv by 4.5% in the 4th quarter. DRW Securities LLC now owns 5,344 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,098,000 after acquiring an additional 228 shares during the period. TRUE Private Wealth Advisors grew its stake in Fiserv by 11.8% in the fourth quarter. TRUE Private Wealth Advisors now owns 1,711 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $352,000 after purchasing an additional 181 shares during the last quarter. Winslow Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Fiserv in the fourth quarter worth about $363,031,000. APG Asset Management N.V. lifted its position in shares of Fiserv by 315.9% during the fourth quarter. APG Asset Management N.V. now owns 433,161 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $85,929,000 after buying an additional 329,000 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of Nova Scotia boosted its holdings in shares of Fiserv by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 91,750 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $18,853,000 after buying an additional 843 shares in the last quarter. 90.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Fiserv Trading Up 7.6 %

Shares of Fiserv stock opened at $210.55 on Thursday. Fiserv, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $145.98 and a fifty-two week 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. The company has a market cap of $117.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 0.91. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $221.65 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $210.03.

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

Fiserv announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share 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 repurchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are generally a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on FI shares. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Fiserv from $240.00 to $270.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded Fiserv from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $246.00 to $260.00 in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. Susquehanna increased their price target on Fiserv from $230.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. KeyCorp increased their price objective on shares of Fiserv from $250.00 to $270.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, StockNews.com started coverage on shares of Fiserv in a research note on Sunday, March 23rd. They set a “buy” rating on the stock. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned 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, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $239.35.

Insider Buying and Selling at Fiserv

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

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.