Fiserv, Inc. (NYSE:FI) COO Sells $10,599,750.00 in Stock

Fiserv, Inc. (NYSE:FI) COO Guy Chiarello sold 45,000 shares of the company’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 completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 227,711 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $53,637,326.05. This represents a 16.50 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link.

Fiserv Trading Down 0.7 %

FI opened at $234.63 on Friday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $213.26 and a 200 day moving average price of $197.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 1.06 and a quick ratio of 1.07. Fiserv, Inc. has a 12 month low of $145.98 and a 12 month 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.

Fiserv (NYSE:FI) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The business services provider reported $2.51 EPS 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%. Sell-side analysts expect that Fiserv, Inc. will post 10.23 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Fiserv announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback plan on Thursday, February 20th that permits the company to repurchase 60,000,000 outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the business services provider to repurchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Susquehanna raised their price target on shares of Fiserv from $230.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on Fiserv from $238.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Fiserv from $258.00 to $267.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded Fiserv from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on shares of Fiserv from $233.00 to $260.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Two equities 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’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $239.83.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Fiserv

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Fiserv in the fourth quarter valued at $1,406,452,000. Sanders Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Fiserv in the 3rd quarter valued at about $764,543,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Fiserv during the 4th quarter worth about $614,982,000. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC lifted its stake in Fiserv by 343.7% during the fourth quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC now owns 2,806,579 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $576,527,000 after purchasing an additional 2,174,025 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Alliancebernstein L.P. boosted its holdings in Fiserv by 65.6% in the fourth quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 5,437,246 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,116,919,000 after purchasing an additional 2,153,554 shares in the last quarter. 90.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.