Hopwood Financial Services Inc. Buys New Holdings in Fiserv, Inc. (NYSE:FI)

Hopwood Financial Services Inc. purchased a new stake in Fiserv, Inc. (NYSE:FI) during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund purchased 800 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $164,000.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Marshall Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Fiserv in the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. Valley National Advisers Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Fiserv in the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. Compass Financial Services Inc bought a new position in shares of Fiserv in the 4th quarter worth $31,000. Kennebec Savings Bank bought a new position in Fiserv in the 3rd quarter valued at about $40,000. Finally, Knuff & Co LLC purchased a new stake in Fiserv in the 4th quarter valued at $45,000. 90.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Fiserv Price Performance

Shares of NYSE FI opened at $213.91 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $120.06 billion, a PE ratio of 39.69, 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 quick ratio of 1.07 and a current ratio of 1.06. Fiserv, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $145.98 and a fifty-two week high of $238.59. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $218.65 and its 200-day simple moving average is $204.00.

Fiserv (NYSE:FI) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The business services provider reported $2.51 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.48 by $0.03. Fiserv had a return on equity of 17.93% and a net margin of 15.31%. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Fiserv, Inc. will post 10.23 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Fiserv declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase program on Thursday, February 20th that permits the company to repurchase 60,000,000 outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the business services provider to repurchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are often an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have weighed in on FI. KeyCorp increased their price objective on Fiserv from $250.00 to $270.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on Fiserv from $208.00 to $231.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 3rd. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded Fiserv from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Citigroup upped their target price on shares of Fiserv from $230.00 to $233.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, Stephens raised their price target on Fiserv from $255.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-one have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Fiserv currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $239.83.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Fiserv news, COO Guy Chiarello sold 45,000 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 227,711 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $53,637,326.05. This represents a 16.50 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 0.75% 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.