StockNews.com Lowers Fiserv (NYSE:FI) to Hold

StockNews.com lowered shares of Fiserv (NYSE:FI) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note issued to investors on Thursday.

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. Morgan Stanley raised Fiserv from an equal weight rating to an overweight rating and upped their price target for the stock from $154.00 to $175.00 in a research note on Monday, July 22nd. BTIG Research initiated coverage on shares of Fiserv in a research report on Wednesday, August 28th. They issued a buy rating and a $200.00 target price on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Fiserv from $180.00 to $190.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. William Blair upgraded shares of Fiserv to a strong-buy rating in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. Finally, B. Riley raised their target price on shares of Fiserv from $180.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-one have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Fiserv presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $174.32.

Fiserv Stock Down 1.4 %

Shares of Fiserv stock opened at $170.02 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 1.06, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85. Fiserv has a 12-month low of $109.11 and a 12-month high of $175.47. The company has a market cap of $99.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.78, a PEG ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 0.93. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $161.29 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $155.04.

Fiserv (NYSE:FI) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The business services provider reported $2.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.10 by $0.03. Fiserv had a net margin of 17.45% and a return on equity of 16.41%. The company had revenue of $5.11 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.81 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.81 earnings per share. Fiserv’s quarterly revenue was up 7.4% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate that Fiserv will post 8.74 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Fiserv

In other 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 28,323 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,213,329.48. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other Fiserv news, COO Guy Chiarello sold 24,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $154.86, for a total transaction of $3,716,640.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 163,699 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $25,350,427.14. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP John Gibbons sold 2,800 shares of Fiserv stock in a transaction on Monday, June 10th. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at approximately $4,213,329.48. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 93,690 shares of company stock worth $14,833,215. Insiders own 0.75% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Fiserv

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Wellington Shields & Co. LLC bought a new stake in Fiserv during the 1st quarter worth approximately $25,000. GW&K Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Fiserv during the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. RE Dickinson Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Fiserv during the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. Private Wealth Management Group LLC bought a new position in Fiserv in the 4th quarter worth $30,000. Finally, Family Firm Inc. purchased a new stake in Fiserv in the 2nd quarter worth $31,000. 90.98% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other 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.