Fiserv (NYSE:FI) Stock Price Expected to Rise, Citigroup Analyst Says

Fiserv (NYSE:FI) had its target price boosted by analysts at Citigroup from $230.00 to $233.00 in a research note issued on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a “buy” rating on the business services provider’s stock. Citigroup’s price target points to a potential upside of 14.01% from the company’s previous close.

Several other equities analysts have also issued reports on FI. Susquehanna upped their price target on Fiserv from $190.00 to $230.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on Fiserv from $183.00 to $224.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Barclays lifted their price objective on Fiserv from $185.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Fiserv from $199.00 to $227.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, UBS Group upped their price target on Fiserv from $185.00 to $240.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-two have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Fiserv has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $223.17.

Fiserv Price Performance

Shares of NYSE FI traded up $2.84 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $204.37. 1,311,139 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,089,465. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $209.66 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $185.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a current ratio of 1.07. Fiserv has a twelve month low of $135.97 and a twelve month high of $223.23. The company has a market cap of $116.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.30, a PEG ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 0.94.

Fiserv (NYSE:FI) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The business services provider reported $2.30 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.26 by $0.04. Fiserv had a net margin of 15.22% and a return on equity of 17.10%. The company had revenue of $5.22 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.90 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.96 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 7.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts forecast that Fiserv will post 8.77 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CAO Kenneth Best sold 20,821 shares of the business’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 approximately $8,320,644.31. The trade was a 34.94 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Doyle Simons sold 40,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $201.97, for a total value of $8,078,800.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 76,180 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,386,074.60. This trade represents a 34.43 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 90,821 shares of company stock worth $18,581,095 over the last three months. Insiders own 0.75% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Fiserv

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in FI. Waypoint Capital Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Fiserv by 1.7% during the 3rd quarter. Waypoint Capital Advisors LLC now owns 3,118 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $560,000 after acquiring an additional 51 shares during the last quarter. Optas LLC raised its position in Fiserv by 1.7% during the 3rd quarter. Optas LLC now owns 3,216 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $578,000 after purchasing an additional 54 shares during the last quarter. Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC increased its position in Fiserv by 42.5% during the 3rd quarter. Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC now owns 191 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 57 shares during the period. Covestor Ltd raised its holdings in Fiserv by 7.6% during the 3rd quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 832 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $150,000 after purchasing an additional 59 shares during the last quarter. Finally, West Bancorporation Inc. lifted its position in shares of Fiserv by 3.8% in the 3rd quarter. West Bancorporation Inc. now owns 1,648 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $296,000 after purchasing an additional 61 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.98% of the company’s stock.

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.