Fiserv (NYSE:FI) Hits New 52-Week High Following Strong Earnings

Fiserv, Inc. (NYSE:FI)’s stock price reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Wednesday after the company announced better than expected quarterly earnings. The stock traded as high as $225.76 and last traded at $228.72, with a volume of 314250 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $214.22.

The business services provider reported $2.51 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.48 by $0.03. Fiserv had a net margin of 15.22% and a return on equity of 17.10%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on FI shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on shares of Fiserv from $225.00 to $238.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on Fiserv from $195.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Oppenheimer boosted their price objective on Fiserv from $214.00 to $239.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Mizuho boosted their price objective on Fiserv from $183.00 to $222.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Fiserv from $220.00 to $258.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. Three 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. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $224.00.

Insider Buying and Selling at Fiserv

In other news, CAO Kenneth Best sold 20,821 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $214.61, for a total value of $4,468,394.81. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 38,771 shares in the company, valued at $8,320,644.31. This represents a 34.94 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Insiders own 0.75% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Fiserv

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of FI. FMR LLC raised its stake in Fiserv by 17.8% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 9,442,476 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,696,341,000 after buying an additional 1,427,664 shares in the last quarter. Sanders Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Fiserv during the third quarter worth about $764,543,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its position in shares of Fiserv by 4.7% during the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 3,711,072 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $762,328,000 after purchasing an additional 164,949 shares in the last quarter. Barclays PLC increased its position in shares of Fiserv by 3.0% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 1,685,157 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $302,737,000 after purchasing an additional 48,413 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Fiserv by 0.3% during the third quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 1,317,778 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $236,739,000 after purchasing an additional 4,218 shares in the last quarter. 90.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Fiserv Price Performance

The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $208.45 and a 200 day moving average price of $192.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 1.07 and a quick ratio of 1.07. The firm has a market cap of $129.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 43.98, a PEG ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 0.94.

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.