Fiserv (NYSE:FI) to Buyback 60,000,000 Shares

Fiserv (NYSE:FI) announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback program on Thursday, February 20th, RTT News reports. The company plans to buyback 60,000,000 outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the business services provider to reacquire shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on Fiserv from $233.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on Fiserv from $208.00 to $231.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded Fiserv from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Fiserv from $240.00 to $270.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Tigress Financial upped their target price on Fiserv from $190.00 to $244.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 29th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-two have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Fiserv presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $239.83.

Fiserv Stock Performance

NYSE FI opened at $232.47 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $132.26 billion, a PE ratio of 43.13, a P/E/G ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a current ratio of 1.06, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86. Fiserv has a twelve month low of $145.98 and a twelve month high of $237.99. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $213.81 and a 200-day simple moving average of $198.56.

Fiserv (NYSE:FI) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The business services provider reported $2.51 earnings per share 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%. Equities analysts anticipate that Fiserv will post 10.23 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Fiserv news, COO Guy Chiarello sold 45,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $235.55, for a total value of $10,599,750.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 227,711 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $53,637,326.05. This trade represents a 16.50 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 0.75% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.