Argyle Capital Management LLC Grows Holdings in Fiserv, Inc. (NYSE:FI)

Argyle Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Fiserv, Inc. (NYSE:FI) by 3.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 16,003 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 480 shares during the quarter. Fiserv makes up approximately 1.3% of Argyle Capital Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 29th largest position. Argyle Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Fiserv were worth $3,287,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in FI. Valley National Advisers Inc. bought a new position in shares of Fiserv during the 4th quarter worth $29,000. Marshall Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Fiserv during the 4th quarter worth about $29,000. Compass Financial Services Inc bought a new stake in shares of Fiserv in the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. Kennebec Savings Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Fiserv in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $40,000. Finally, Friedenthal Financial bought a new position in shares of Fiserv during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $49,000. 90.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, COO Guy Chiarello sold 45,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 in the company, valued at approximately $53,637,326.05. This represents a 16.50 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.75% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

FI has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Compass Point assumed coverage on Fiserv in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. They set a “buy” rating and a $278.00 target price for the company. Barclays raised their price objective on Fiserv from $235.00 to $265.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of Fiserv from $230.00 to $233.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. KeyCorp raised their price target on shares of Fiserv from $250.00 to $270.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Susquehanna increased their target price on shares of Fiserv from $230.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-one have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Fiserv presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $239.83.

Fiserv Stock Up 0.9 %

Shares of NYSE FI opened at $231.85 on Friday. Fiserv, Inc. has a 52-week low of $145.98 and a 52-week high of $237.99. The company has a quick ratio of 1.07, a current ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $216.09 and its 200-day simple moving average is $200.29. The firm has a market cap of $130.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 43.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 0.94.

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

Fiserv announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback plan 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 plans are generally an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

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.