Fiserv (NYSE:FI) Upgraded to “Strong-Buy” at William Blair

William Blair upgraded shares of Fiserv (NYSE:FI) to a strong-buy rating in a research note published on Wednesday morning, Zacks.com reports.

Several other brokerages also recently commented on FI. B. Riley upped their price target on shares of Fiserv from $180.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research report on Thursday. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on Fiserv from $168.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a report on Thursday. Barclays upped their price target on Fiserv from $165.00 to $185.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research report on Monday, April 1st. TD Cowen raised their price objective on Fiserv from $175.00 to $182.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Citigroup upped their target price on Fiserv from $171.00 to $180.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a report on Wednesday, April 24th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-two have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Fiserv currently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $172.29.

Fiserv Stock Up 2.5 %

FI opened at $159.94 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a current ratio of 1.06. The company has a market capitalization of $93.58 billion, a PE ratio of 29.90, a P/E/G ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 0.92. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $151.29 and its 200-day moving average is $149.94. Fiserv has a one year low of $109.11 and a one year high of $162.47.

Fiserv (NYSE:FI) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The business services provider reported $2.13 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.10 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $5.11 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.81 billion. Fiserv had a net margin of 17.45% and a return on equity of 16.41%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.81 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Fiserv will post 8.71 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP John Gibbons sold 2,800 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $148.76, for a total value of $416,528.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 28,323 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,213,329.48. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, COO Guy Chiarello sold 24,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $154.86, for a total value of $3,716,640.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 163,699 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $25,350,427.14. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP John Gibbons sold 2,800 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $148.76, for a total value of $416,528.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 28,323 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,213,329.48. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 50,800 shares of company stock worth $7,696,448. 0.75% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Fiserv

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in FI. Wellington Shields & Co. LLC bought a new position in shares of Fiserv in the first quarter valued at about $25,000. Halpern Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Fiserv during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. GW&K Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Fiserv in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. RE Dickinson Investment Advisors LLC bought a new position in Fiserv in the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Finally, Private Wealth Management Group LLC acquired a new position in Fiserv during the 4th quarter worth $30,000. 90.98% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.