Arvest Investments Inc. Lowers Holdings in Fiserv, Inc. (NYSE:FI)

Arvest Investments Inc. lowered its holdings in Fiserv, Inc. (NYSE:FI) by 7.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 11,467 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 875 shares during the quarter. Arvest Investments Inc.’s holdings in Fiserv were worth $2,356,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Soros Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Fiserv by 71.7% in the third quarter. Soros Capital Management LLC now owns 54,797 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $9,844,000 after acquiring an additional 22,884 shares during the period. Czech National Bank lifted its holdings in Fiserv by 5.2% in the fourth quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 123,353 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $25,339,000 after acquiring an additional 6,072 shares during the period. Chiron Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Fiserv in the third quarter valued at $4,709,000. Trust Co. of Vermont lifted its holdings in Fiserv by 170.4% in the fourth quarter. Trust Co. of Vermont now owns 6,839 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,405,000 after acquiring an additional 4,310 shares during the period. Finally, Cardano Risk Management B.V. acquired a new stake in Fiserv in the fourth quarter valued at $97,254,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.98% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, COO Guy Chiarello sold 45,000 shares of the business’s 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 transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 227,711 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $53,637,326.05. The trade was a 16.50 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.75% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently issued reports on FI. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Fiserv from $240.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on Fiserv from $233.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target 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 downgraded Fiserv from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Finally, Barclays lifted their price target on Fiserv from $235.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-one have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Fiserv currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $239.83.

Fiserv Stock Performance

Fiserv stock opened at $220.87 on Thursday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $219.78 and its 200 day moving average price is $205.59. The firm has a market capitalization of $123.97 billion, a PE ratio of 40.98, 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 quick ratio of 1.07 and a current ratio of 1.06. Fiserv, Inc. has a one year low of $145.98 and a one year high of $238.59.

Fiserv (NYSE:FI) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The business services provider reported $2.51 EPS 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 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Fiserv declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback 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 repurchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often an indication that the company’s leadership 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.