River Global Investors LLP Cuts Position in Fiserv, Inc. (NYSE:FI)

River Global Investors LLP lowered its position in shares of Fiserv, Inc. (NYSE:FI) by 42.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 30,933 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 23,178 shares during the quarter. Fiserv comprises approximately 1.2% of River Global Investors LLP’s holdings, making the stock its 21st largest holding. River Global Investors LLP’s holdings in Fiserv were worth $6,359,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Sanders Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Fiserv during the third quarter worth about $764,543,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in Fiserv during the 4th quarter worth approximately $614,982,000. FMR LLC boosted its holdings in Fiserv by 17.8% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 9,442,476 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,696,341,000 after acquiring an additional 1,427,664 shares during the period. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC grew its position in Fiserv by 788.7% in the third quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC now owns 632,554 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $109,700,000 after acquiring an additional 561,377 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mizuho Securities USA LLC raised its stake in shares of Fiserv by 1,238.6% during the third quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 603,887 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $108,488,000 after purchasing an additional 558,774 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.98% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Fiserv

In related news, COO Guy Chiarello sold 45,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $235.55, for a total value of $10,599,750.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 227,711 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $53,637,326.05. This represents a 16.50 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.75% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

FI has been the subject of several analyst reports. Susquehanna upped their target price on shares of Fiserv from $230.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Fiserv from $258.00 to $267.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. StockNews.com lowered Fiserv from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on Fiserv from $208.00 to $231.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Finally, Seaport Res Ptn upgraded Fiserv from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-one have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Fiserv currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $239.83.

Fiserv Price Performance

Shares of FI opened at $218.04 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 1.06 and a quick ratio of 1.07. The company has a market cap of $122.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.45, a PEG ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 0.93. Fiserv, Inc. has a 12 month low of $145.98 and a 12 month high of $238.59. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $218.31 and a 200 day moving average price of $202.88.

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

Fiserv declared that its board has initiated a stock buyback program on Thursday, February 20th that allows the company to repurchase 60,000,000 shares. This repurchase authorization allows the business services provider to buy shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are typically an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

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.