Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. Increases Stake in Fiserv, Inc. (NYSE:FI)

Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Fiserv, Inc. (NYSE:FI) by 10.4% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 20,152 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 1,893 shares during the period. Atria Wealth Solutions Inc.’s holdings in Fiserv were worth $4,140,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Valley National Advisers Inc. purchased a new position in Fiserv in the fourth quarter valued at $29,000. Compass Financial Services Inc purchased a new stake in Fiserv during the 4th quarter worth about $31,000. Kennebec Savings Bank purchased a new position in shares of Fiserv in the 3rd quarter valued at about $40,000. Roxbury Financial LLC acquired a new position in shares of Fiserv during the fourth quarter worth about $50,000. Finally, Friedenthal Financial acquired a new position in shares of Fiserv during the fourth quarter worth about $49,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.98% of the company’s stock.

Fiserv Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:FI opened at $234.63 on Friday. Fiserv, Inc. has a one year low of $145.98 and a one year high of $238.00. The stock has a market capitalization of $133.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 43.53, a PEG ratio of 1.53 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $213.26 and a 200-day simple moving average of $197.74. 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 posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The business services provider reported $2.51 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.48 by $0.03. Fiserv had a return on equity of 17.93% and a net margin of 15.31%. On average, analysts predict that Fiserv, Inc. will post 10.23 EPS for the current year.

Fiserv declared that its board has initiated a stock buyback program on Thursday, February 20th that allows the company 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 generally a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, COO Guy Chiarello sold 45,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $235.55, for a total transaction of $10,599,750.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 227,711 shares in the company, valued at $53,637,326.05. The trade was a 16.50 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.75% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on FI. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on shares of Fiserv from $238.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Tigress Financial raised their price objective on shares of Fiserv from $190.00 to $244.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 29th. Compass Point initiated coverage on shares of Fiserv in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. They set a “buy” rating and a $278.00 target price for the company. Oppenheimer increased their target price on Fiserv from $214.00 to $239.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, Citigroup lifted their price target on Fiserv from $230.00 to $233.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-two have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Fiserv presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $239.83.

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.