Optimum Investment Advisors Raises Stock Holdings in Fiserv, Inc. (NYSE:FI)

Optimum Investment Advisors grew its stake in shares of Fiserv, Inc. (NYSE:FI) by 1.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 4,790 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 75 shares during the quarter. Optimum Investment Advisors’ holdings in Fiserv were worth $984,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Valley National Advisers Inc. purchased a new stake in Fiserv during the fourth quarter valued at $29,000. Marshall Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Fiserv during the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. Compass Financial Services Inc purchased a new stake in shares of Fiserv during the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. Campbell Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Fiserv during the 4th quarter valued at about $37,000. Finally, Knuff & Co LLC bought a new position in shares of Fiserv in the 4th quarter worth approximately $45,000. 90.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Fiserv

In other 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 sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 227,711 shares in the company, valued at approximately $53,637,326.05. This represents a 16.50 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.75% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Fiserv Trading Down 1.7 %

Shares of Fiserv stock opened at $218.01 on Friday. Fiserv, Inc. has a twelve month low of $145.98 and a twelve month 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. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $220.46 and a 200-day moving average price of $206.23. The firm has a market cap of $122.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.45, a PEG ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 0.93.

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%. Equities research analysts anticipate that Fiserv, Inc. will post 10.23 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Fiserv announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase plan on Thursday, February 20th that authorizes the company to buyback 60,000,000 outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the business services provider to purchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are usually an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have commented on FI shares. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Fiserv from $240.00 to $270.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Stephens boosted their price objective on shares of Fiserv from $255.00 to $270.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Barclays raised their target price on Fiserv from $235.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. Citigroup boosted their price target on Fiserv from $230.00 to $233.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on Fiserv from $233.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-one have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Fiserv presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $239.83.

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.