Fiserv, Inc. (NYSE:FI) Given Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

Shares of Fiserv, Inc. (NYSE:FI) have received an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty-six research firms that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-one have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 12-month price target among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $222.88.

FI has been the topic of a number of research reports. KeyCorp boosted their price objective on Fiserv from $180.00 to $225.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Fiserv from $185.00 to $240.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. StockNews.com raised shares of Fiserv from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, September 26th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of Fiserv from $220.00 to $258.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Finally, Oppenheimer raised their price target on shares of Fiserv from $214.00 to $239.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 19th.

Fiserv Stock Performance

NYSE FI opened at $209.45 on Wednesday. The company’s fifty day moving average is $207.64 and its two-hundred day moving average is $179.69. Fiserv has a 52-week low of $131.41 and a 52-week high of $223.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 1.07 and a quick ratio of 1.07. The firm has a market capitalization of $119.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.28, a P/E/G ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 0.93.

Fiserv (NYSE:FI) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The business services provider reported $2.30 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.26 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $5.22 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.90 billion. Fiserv had a return on equity of 17.10% and a net margin of 15.22%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.96 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Fiserv will post 8.77 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Doyle Simons sold 40,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $201.97, for a total value of $8,078,800.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 76,180 shares in the company, valued at $15,386,074.60. This trade represents a 34.43 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CAO Kenneth Best sold 20,821 shares of Fiserv stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $214.61, for a total value of $4,468,394.81. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 38,771 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,320,644.31. The trade was a 34.94 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 90,821 shares of company stock valued at $18,581,095 in the last 90 days. 0.75% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of FI. Clean Yield Group lifted its stake in shares of Fiserv by 431.3% in the 3rd quarter. Clean Yield Group now owns 170 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 138 shares during the period. Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Fiserv by 42.5% in the third quarter. Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC now owns 191 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 57 shares during the last quarter. Kennebec Savings Bank bought a new stake in Fiserv in the third quarter valued at about $40,000. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC acquired a new position in Fiserv in the third quarter valued at about $44,000. Finally, Wolff Wiese Magana LLC boosted its holdings in Fiserv by 904.0% during the third quarter. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC now owns 251 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $45,000 after buying an additional 226 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 90.98% 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.