Fiserv (NYSE:FI) Reaches New 1-Year High at $179.95

Fiserv, Inc. (NYSE:FI)’s share price reached a new 52-week high on Monday . The company traded as high as $179.95 and last traded at $179.65, with a volume of 2124050 shares. The stock had previously closed at $178.38.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently commented on FI. Morgan Stanley upgraded Fiserv from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $154.00 to $175.00 in a research report on Monday, July 22nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on Fiserv from $178.00 to $184.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, July 25th. Robert W. Baird raised their target price on shares of Fiserv from $186.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, September 23rd. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $183.00 price target on shares of Fiserv in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Fiserv from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 26th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-two have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $177.64.

Fiserv Trading Up 0.6 %

The stock has a market cap of $106.75 billion, a PE ratio of 33.91, a PEG ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 0.93. The company has a quick ratio of 1.06, a current ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $169.23 and its 200 day moving average price is $158.22.

Fiserv (NYSE:FI) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The business services provider reported $2.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.10 by $0.03. Fiserv had a return on equity of 16.41% and a net margin of 17.45%. The firm had revenue of $5.11 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.81 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.81 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 7.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Fiserv, Inc. will post 8.74 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, COO Guy Chiarello sold 24,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $154.86, for a total transaction of $3,716,640.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 163,699 shares in the company, valued at $25,350,427.14. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other Fiserv news, COO Guy Chiarello sold 24,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $154.86, for a total transaction of $3,716,640.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 163,699 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $25,350,427.14. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP John Gibbons sold 18,890 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $168.21, for a total value of $3,177,486.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 28,323 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,764,211.83. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 211,890 shares of company stock valued at $36,572,057. Insiders own 0.75% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Fiserv

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD bought a new stake in Fiserv in the 4th quarter valued at $5,885,279,000. Capital World Investors purchased a new position in Fiserv during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $2,329,623,000. Veritas Asset Management LLP purchased a new stake in shares of Fiserv during the 4th quarter worth approximately $927,298,000. Northern Trust Corp bought a new position in shares of Fiserv during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $784,200,000. Finally, BlueSpruce Investments LP purchased a new position in shares of Fiserv in the fourth quarter valued at $646,368,000. 90.98% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.