Achmea Investment Management B.V. Raises Stake in Fiserv, Inc. (NYSE:FI)

Achmea Investment Management B.V. lifted its position in shares of Fiserv, Inc. (NYSE:FI) by 285.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 83,171 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 61,603 shares during the quarter. Achmea Investment Management B.V.’s holdings in Fiserv were worth $17,085,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Sanders Capital LLC acquired a new position in Fiserv in the 3rd quarter valued at about $764,543,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Fiserv during the 4th quarter worth about $614,982,000. FMR LLC grew its holdings in shares of Fiserv by 17.8% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 9,442,476 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,696,341,000 after purchasing an additional 1,427,664 shares during the period. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Fiserv by 788.7% during the 3rd quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC now owns 632,554 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $109,700,000 after purchasing an additional 561,377 shares during the period. Finally, Mizuho Securities USA LLC grew its holdings in shares of Fiserv by 1,238.6% during the 3rd quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 603,887 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $108,488,000 after purchasing an additional 558,774 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.98% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Fiserv

In other Fiserv 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 $53,637,326.05. This trade represents a 16.50 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Corporate insiders own 0.75% of the company’s stock.

Fiserv Stock Performance

FI stock opened at $211.10 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 1.06, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86. The firm has a market cap of $118.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.17, a P/E/G ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 0.93. Fiserv, Inc. has a 12-month low of $145.98 and a 12-month high of $238.59. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $218.77 and its 200 day simple moving average is $204.05.

Fiserv (NYSE:FI) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The business services provider reported $2.51 earnings per share (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%. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Fiserv, Inc. will post 10.23 EPS for the current year.

Fiserv announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback program on Thursday, February 20th that authorizes the company to repurchase 60,000,000 outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the business services provider to repurchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are usually a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on FI shares. Oppenheimer boosted their target price on Fiserv from $214.00 to $239.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, December 19th. StockNews.com cut Fiserv from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on Fiserv from $233.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report 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, Susquehanna upped their price target on Fiserv from $230.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-one have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price 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.