Barclays PLC Sells 489,142 Shares of Fiserv, Inc. (NYSE:FI)

Barclays PLC lowered its stake in shares of Fiserv, Inc. (NYSE:FI) by 29.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,196,015 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 489,142 shares during the period. Barclays PLC owned 0.21% of Fiserv worth $245,686,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its position in shares of Fiserv by 80.1% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 50,386 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $9,052,000 after buying an additional 22,410 shares in the last quarter. Invst LLC bought a new stake in shares of Fiserv during the 3rd quarter valued at about $211,000. SkyView Investment Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Fiserv by 4.4% during the third quarter. SkyView Investment Advisors LLC now owns 5,275 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $948,000 after purchasing an additional 223 shares in the last quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of Fiserv by 1.4% in the third quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC now owns 35,463 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $6,371,000 after purchasing an additional 497 shares during the last quarter. Finally, World Investment Advisors LLC raised its stake in Fiserv by 1,469.7% in the third quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC now owns 55,802 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $10,025,000 after purchasing an additional 52,247 shares in the last quarter. 90.98% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, COO Guy Chiarello sold 45,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $235.55, for a total value of $10,599,750.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 227,711 shares in the company, valued at $53,637,326.05. This represents a 16.50 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Insiders own 0.75% of the company’s stock.

Fiserv Stock Performance

Shares of FI stock opened at $212.44 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $118.66 billion, a PE ratio of 39.41, a P/E/G ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 0.91. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $220.94 and a 200-day moving average price of $210.90. Fiserv, Inc. has a 52 week low of $145.98 and a 52 week high of $238.59. 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 (NYSE:FI) last released its quarterly 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%. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Fiserv, Inc. will post 10.23 earnings per share for the current year.

Fiserv declared that its board has approved a stock repurchase program on Thursday, February 20th that authorizes the company to repurchase 60,000,000 outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the business services provider to buy shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are typically a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently commented on FI. Susquehanna increased their price target on shares of Fiserv from $230.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. KeyCorp lifted their price target on Fiserv from $250.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised Fiserv from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $246.00 to $260.00 in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Citigroup upped their target price on Fiserv from $230.00 to $233.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on shares of Fiserv from $255.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating, twenty-two have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Fiserv has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $239.35.

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.