Fiserv, Inc. (NYSE:FI) Shares Sold by Meridian Wealth Management LLC

Meridian Wealth Management LLC decreased its stake in Fiserv, Inc. (NYSE:FI) by 3.7% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 4,851 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 187 shares during the quarter. Meridian Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Fiserv were worth $996,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in FI. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Fiserv by 1.5% in the third quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 228,083 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $40,975,000 after purchasing an additional 3,457 shares during the period. PDS Planning Inc lifted its stake in shares of Fiserv by 18.6% in the third quarter. PDS Planning Inc now owns 3,397 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $610,000 after purchasing an additional 532 shares during the period. W.H. Cornerstone Investments Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Fiserv in the third quarter valued at about $204,000. Geneva Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Fiserv by 24.0% in the third quarter. Geneva Partners LLC now owns 28,181 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $5,063,000 after purchasing an additional 5,460 shares during the period. Finally, HF Advisory Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of Fiserv by 6.5% in the third quarter. HF Advisory Group LLC now owns 4,418 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $794,000 after purchasing an additional 270 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.98% of the company’s stock.

Fiserv Stock Performance

Shares of FI opened at $223.82 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $217.59 and a 200 day moving average price of $202.24. The firm has a market capitalization of $125.63 billion, a PE ratio of 41.52, a P/E/G ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 0.94. 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.

Fiserv (NYSE:FI) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The business services provider reported $2.51 earnings per share 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%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Fiserv, Inc. will post 10.23 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Fiserv announced that its board has approved a share repurchase plan on Thursday, February 20th that permits the company to buyback 60,000,000 shares. This buyback authorization permits the business services provider to purchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity

In other Fiserv news, COO Guy Chiarello sold 45,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 227,711 shares of the company’s stock, 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 available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.75% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have issued reports on FI. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on shares of Fiserv from $238.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Stephens lifted their target price on shares of Fiserv from $255.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of Fiserv from $230.00 to $233.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on shares of Fiserv from $208.00 to $231.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Finally, Seaport Res Ptn raised shares of Fiserv from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. 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, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $239.83.

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.