Vestor Capital LLC Raises Stake in Fiserv, Inc. (NYSE:FI)

Vestor Capital LLC grew its stake in shares of Fiserv, Inc. (NYSE:FI) by 24.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 129,423 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 25,649 shares during the period. Fiserv makes up about 2.0% of Vestor Capital LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 11th largest position. Vestor Capital LLC’s holdings in Fiserv were worth $26,586,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in FI. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its position in shares of Fiserv by 7.2% in the 3rd quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 9,328 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,676,000 after buying an additional 626 shares in the last quarter. Quest Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Fiserv by 72,800.0% in the 3rd quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 729 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $131,000 after buying an additional 728 shares in the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Fiserv by 9.1% in the 3rd quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 145,725 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $26,179,000 after purchasing an additional 12,119 shares in the last quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI lifted its holdings in Fiserv by 1.8% in the 3rd quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI now owns 12,824 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $2,304,000 after purchasing an additional 222 shares in the last quarter. Finally, King Luther Capital Management Corp lifted its holdings in Fiserv by 20.0% in the 3rd quarter. King Luther Capital Management Corp now owns 142,280 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $25,561,000 after purchasing an additional 23,673 shares in the last quarter. 90.98% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Citigroup upped their target price on shares of Fiserv from $230.00 to $233.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Susquehanna upped their target price on shares of Fiserv from $230.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on shares of Fiserv from $233.00 to $260.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Fiserv from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Fiserv from $240.00 to $270.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-one have assigned 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 a consensus price target of $239.83.

Fiserv Stock Down 1.7 %

Shares of NYSE:FI opened at $218.01 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.07, a current ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86. Fiserv, Inc. has a 52-week low of $145.98 and a 52-week high of $238.59. The company has a 50 day moving average of $220.46 and a two-hundred day moving average of $206.01. The company has a market capitalization of $122.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 0.93.

Fiserv (NYSE:FI) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The business services provider reported $2.51 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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%. As a group, analysts forecast that Fiserv, Inc. will post 10.23 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Fiserv declared that its board has approved a stock buyback plan on Thursday, February 20th that allows the company to buyback 60,000,000 shares. This buyback authorization allows the business services provider to repurchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are generally an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at Fiserv

In other 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 transaction of $10,599,750.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 227,711 shares in the company, valued at approximately $53,637,326.05. This represents a 16.50 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.75% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Fiserv 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.