Cookson Peirce & Co. Inc. Raises Stock Position in Fiserv, Inc. (NYSE:FI)

Cookson Peirce & Co. Inc. increased its stake in Fiserv, Inc. (NYSE:FI) by 2.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,373 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 67 shares during the quarter. Cookson Peirce & Co. Inc.’s holdings in Fiserv were worth $693,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

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

Fiserv Price Performance

Fiserv stock opened at $226.07 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $126.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 0.93. 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 1 year low of $145.98 and a 1 year high of $238.59. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $217.92 and a two-hundred day moving average of $202.41.

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

Fiserv declared that its board has approved a stock repurchase 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. Stock buyback programs are generally an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have issued reports on FI. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on shares of Fiserv from $233.00 to $260.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Susquehanna lifted their price target on shares of Fiserv from $230.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Fiserv from $258.00 to $267.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a 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 report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Fiserv from $230.00 to $233.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Three equities research 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 stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $239.83.

Insider Buying and Selling at Fiserv

In related news, COO Guy Chiarello sold 45,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 227,711 shares in the company, valued at $53,637,326.05. The trade was a 16.50 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.75% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.