Fiserv (NYSE:FI) Upgraded to Overweight by Morgan Stanley

Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Fiserv (NYSE:FI) from an equal weight rating to an overweight rating in a report released on Monday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has $175.00 target price on the business services provider’s stock, up from their prior target price of $154.00.

Several other brokerages have also recently issued reports on FI. UBS Group increased their price objective on Fiserv from $170.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 24th. Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on Fiserv from $185.00 to $186.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 24th. B. Riley boosted their price target on Fiserv from $176.00 to $180.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 24th. Barclays lifted their price objective on Fiserv from $165.00 to $185.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a report on Monday, April 1st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on Fiserv from $150.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a hold rating in a research note on Monday, March 25th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-one have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $166.76.

Fiserv Trading Up 2.5 %

FI opened at $161.18 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a current ratio of 1.06. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $151.09 and its 200 day moving average price is $149.62. Fiserv has a one year low of $109.11 and a one year high of $161.73. The stock has a market capitalization of $94.31 billion, a PE ratio of 30.13, a P/E/G ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 0.92.

Fiserv (NYSE:FI) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 23rd. The business services provider reported $1.88 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.77 by $0.11. Fiserv had a return on equity of 15.73% and a net margin of 16.68%. The company had revenue of $4.88 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.57 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.58 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 7.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Fiserv will post 8.69 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Fiserv

In other news, EVP John Gibbons sold 2,800 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $148.76, for a total transaction of $416,528.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 28,323 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,213,329.48. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, EVP John Gibbons sold 2,800 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $148.76, for a total transaction of $416,528.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 28,323 shares in the company, valued at $4,213,329.48. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, COO Guy Chiarello sold 24,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $148.47, for a total transaction of $3,563,280.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 163,699 shares in the company, valued at approximately $24,304,390.53. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 50,800 shares of company stock valued at $7,696,448. Insiders own 0.75% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Wellington Shields & Co. LLC acquired a new position in shares of Fiserv during the first quarter valued at approximately $25,000. West Oak Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Fiserv during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Halpern Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Fiserv during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. GW&K Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Fiserv during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Finally, RE Dickinson Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Fiserv during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.98% of the company’s stock.

Fiserv Company 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.