Alliancebernstein L.P. Boosts Stock Position in Fiserv, Inc. (NYSE:FI)

Alliancebernstein L.P. increased its stake in Fiserv, Inc. (NYSE:FI) by 65.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 5,437,246 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,153,554 shares during the quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P.’s holdings in Fiserv were worth $1,116,919,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Valley National Advisers Inc. purchased a new position in Fiserv during the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. Marshall Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Fiserv in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Compass Financial Services Inc purchased a new position in Fiserv during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Campbell Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in Fiserv during the 4th quarter worth approximately $37,000. Finally, Knuff & Co LLC purchased a new stake in Fiserv in the 4th quarter worth approximately $45,000. 90.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Oppenheimer upped their price target on shares of Fiserv from $214.00 to $239.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Citigroup raised their price target on Fiserv from $230.00 to $233.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on Fiserv from $255.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Fiserv from $235.00 to $265.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on shares of Fiserv from $208.00 to $231.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 3rd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-one have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $242.32.

Fiserv Trading Down 1.4 %

NYSE FI opened at $216.15 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $121.32 billion, a PE ratio of 40.10, a P/E/G ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 0.93. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $222.00 and its 200 day moving average is $208.17. Fiserv, Inc. has a twelve month low of $145.98 and a twelve month high of $238.59. The company has a quick ratio of 1.07, a current ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86.

Fiserv (NYSE:FI) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The business services provider reported $2.51 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.48 by $0.03. Fiserv had a net margin of 15.31% and a return on equity of 17.93%. Research analysts forecast 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 stock buyback plan on Thursday, February 20th that permits the company to buyback 60,000,000 outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the business services provider to purchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are generally a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, COO Guy Chiarello sold 45,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 directly owns 227,711 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $53,637,326.05. This represents a 16.50 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.75% of the company’s stock.

Fiserv Profile

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.