Parkside Financial Bank & Trust Raises Holdings in Fiserv, Inc. (NYSE:FI)

Parkside Financial Bank & Trust increased its position in shares of Fiserv, Inc. (NYSE:FI) by 1.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 4,109 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 45 shares during the quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust’s holdings in Fiserv were worth $841,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Marshall Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Fiserv during the fourth quarter worth approximately $29,000. Valley National Advisers Inc. acquired a new position in Fiserv during the fourth quarter worth $29,000. Compass Financial Services Inc acquired a new position in Fiserv during the fourth quarter worth $31,000. Kennebec Savings Bank acquired a new position in Fiserv during the third quarter worth $40,000. Finally, Roxbury Financial LLC acquired a new position in Fiserv during the fourth quarter worth $50,000. 90.98% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Fiserv news, COO Guy Chiarello sold 45,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chief operating officer now owns 227,711 shares in the company, valued at $53,637,326.05. This represents a 16.50 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 0.75% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on FI shares. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on Fiserv from $255.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. StockNews.com lowered Fiserv from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Seaport Res Ptn raised Fiserv from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Citigroup boosted their price objective on Fiserv from $230.00 to $233.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on Fiserv from $208.00 to $231.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 3rd. Three equities research 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 company. According to MarketBeat, Fiserv presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $239.83.

Fiserv Price Performance

FI opened at $235.67 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $216.68 and its 200 day moving average price is $200.81. The company has a current ratio of 1.06, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86. Fiserv, Inc. has a 12-month low of $145.98 and a 12-month high of $237.99. The firm has a market cap of $132.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 43.72, a PEG ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 0.94.

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, sell-side analysts expect that Fiserv, Inc. will post 10.23 earnings per share for the current year.

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

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.