Stephens Upgrades Fiserv (NYSE:FI) to Overweight

Fiserv (NYSE:FI) was upgraded by equities researchers at Stephens from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating in a research report issued on Wednesday, Marketbeat reports. The firm presently has a $255.00 price objective on the business services provider’s stock, up from their prior price objective of $220.00. Stephens’ price target would indicate a potential upside of 26.08% from the stock’s current price.

Other research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Fiserv from $199.00 to $227.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on shares of Fiserv from $208.00 to $231.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on shares of Fiserv from $225.00 to $238.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. BTIG Research assumed coverage on shares of Fiserv in a report on Wednesday, August 28th. They set a “buy” rating and a $200.00 price target for the company. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price objective on Fiserv from $185.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-two have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $222.88.

Fiserv Price Performance

FI opened at $202.26 on Wednesday. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $207.06 and a 200 day simple moving average of $178.47. The company has a quick ratio of 1.07, a current ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85. Fiserv has a 12 month low of $131.41 and a 12 month high of $223.23. The stock has a market cap of $115.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.90, a P/E/G ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 0.93.

Fiserv (NYSE:FI) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The business services provider reported $2.30 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.26 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $5.22 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.90 billion. Fiserv had a return on equity of 17.10% and a net margin of 15.22%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.96 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Fiserv will post 8.77 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Fiserv

In other news, CAO Kenneth Best sold 20,821 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $214.61, for a total value of $4,468,394.81. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 38,771 shares in the company, valued at $8,320,644.31. This represents a 34.94 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Doyle Simons sold 40,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $201.97, for a total transaction of $8,078,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 76,180 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $15,386,074.60. The trade was a 34.43 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 90,821 shares of company stock valued at $18,581,095 over the last ninety days. 0.75% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Fiserv

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in FI. Family Firm Inc. bought a new position in shares of Fiserv during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Clean Yield Group raised its stake in shares of Fiserv by 431.3% in the third quarter. Clean Yield Group now owns 170 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 138 shares during the period. Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Fiserv by 42.5% during the 3rd quarter. Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC now owns 191 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 57 shares during the last quarter. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Fiserv by 95.5% during the 2nd quarter. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 260 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $39,000 after acquiring an additional 127 shares during the period. Finally, Kennebec Savings Bank purchased a new stake in Fiserv in the 3rd quarter worth about $40,000. Institutional investors own 90.98% of the company’s stock.

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.