California Public Employees Retirement System Has $460.93 Million Stock Holdings in Fiserv, Inc. (NYSE:FI)

California Public Employees Retirement System lowered its stake in Fiserv, Inc. (NYSE:FI) by 1.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,243,845 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 29,815 shares during the quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System owned about 0.39% of Fiserv worth $460,931,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Fiserv during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,406,452,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of Fiserv during the fourth quarter worth $614,982,000. Madison Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Fiserv in the 4th quarter valued at $134,710,000. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC raised its stake in 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 buying an additional 561,377 shares during the period. Finally, Proficio Capital Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Fiserv by 30,479.9% during the fourth quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 484,997 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $99,628,000 after acquiring an additional 483,411 shares in the last quarter. 90.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Fiserv Stock Down 1.4 %

FI stock opened at $216.15 on Friday. Fiserv, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $145.98 and a fifty-two week high of $238.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 1.06 and a quick ratio of 1.07. The stock has a market capitalization of $121.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.10, a PEG ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 0.93. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $222.00 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $207.91.

Fiserv (NYSE:FI) last released its quarterly earnings results 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 net margin of 15.31% and a return on equity of 17.93%. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Fiserv, Inc. will post 10.23 earnings per share for the current year.

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on Fiserv from $255.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Fiserv from $240.00 to $270.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on shares of Fiserv from $233.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on shares of Fiserv from $208.00 to $231.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Finally, Stephens increased their target price on Fiserv from $255.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-one have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Fiserv has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $242.32.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, COO Guy Chiarello sold 45,000 shares of the firm’s 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 transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 227,711 shares in the company, valued at approximately $53,637,326.05. This trade represents a 16.50 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, 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.