Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. Purchases 235 Shares of Fiserv, Inc. (NYSE:FI)

Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in Fiserv, Inc. (NYSE:FI) by 8.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 2,928 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 235 shares during the period. Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Fiserv were worth $601,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Soros Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Fiserv by 71.7% in the 3rd quarter. Soros Capital Management LLC now owns 54,797 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $9,844,000 after acquiring an additional 22,884 shares in the last quarter. Czech National Bank increased its position in Fiserv by 5.2% during the 4th quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 123,353 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $25,339,000 after buying an additional 6,072 shares in the last quarter. Chiron Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Fiserv during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $4,709,000. Trust Co. of Vermont increased its position in Fiserv by 170.4% during the 4th quarter. Trust Co. of Vermont now owns 6,839 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,405,000 after buying an additional 4,310 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cardano Risk Management B.V. bought a new position in Fiserv during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $97,254,000. Institutional investors own 90.98% of the company’s stock.

Fiserv Stock Performance

FI stock opened at $218.04 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $122.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 0.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 1.06 and a quick ratio of 1.07. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $218.31 and its 200-day moving average price is $203.12. Fiserv, Inc. has a 1 year low of $145.98 and a 1 year high of $238.59.

Fiserv (NYSE:FI) last released its earnings results 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 return on equity of 17.93% and a net margin of 15.31%. On average, equities analysts forecast that Fiserv, Inc. will post 10.23 earnings per share for the current year.

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently weighed in on FI. StockNews.com lowered Fiserv from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Citigroup raised their price objective on Fiserv from $230.00 to $233.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Seaport Res Ptn raised Fiserv from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Compass Point began coverage on Fiserv in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. They set a “buy” rating and a $278.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Barclays increased their target price on Fiserv from $235.00 to $265.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Three 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 company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $239.83.

Insider Activity at Fiserv

In related news, COO Guy Chiarello sold 45,000 shares of Fiserv stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 227,711 shares in the company, valued at approximately $53,637,326.05. The trade was a 16.50 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.75% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.