BankPlus Trust Department Purchases Shares of 7,072 Fiserv, Inc. (NYSE:FI)

BankPlus Trust Department acquired a new position in Fiserv, Inc. (NYSE:FI) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 7,072 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,453,000.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Soros Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Fiserv by 71.7% in the third quarter. Soros Capital Management LLC now owns 54,797 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $9,844,000 after buying an additional 22,884 shares in the last quarter. Czech National Bank boosted its position in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 6,072 shares during the last quarter. Chiron Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Fiserv in the third quarter valued at $4,709,000. Trust Co. of Vermont increased its position 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 worth $1,405,000 after purchasing an additional 4,310 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cardano Risk Management B.V. bought a new position in Fiserv during the fourth quarter valued at $97,254,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.98% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on FI. Oppenheimer upped their target price on shares of Fiserv from $214.00 to $239.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Fiserv from $240.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Barclays raised their price target on Fiserv from $235.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on Fiserv from $208.00 to $231.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 3rd. Finally, Compass Point assumed coverage on Fiserv in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $278.00 price objective on the stock. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-two have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $239.83.

Fiserv Stock Performance

NYSE FI opened at $232.47 on Monday. Fiserv, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $145.98 and a fifty-two week high of $237.99. The firm has a market capitalization of $132.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 43.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 0.94. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $213.81 and its two-hundred day moving average is $198.86. 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 (NYSE:FI) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The business services provider reported $2.51 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.48 by $0.03. Fiserv had a net margin of 15.31% and a return on equity of 17.93%. On average, research analysts anticipate that Fiserv, Inc. will post 10.23 earnings per share for the current year.

Fiserv declared that its board has initiated a stock buyback program on Thursday, February 20th that allows the company to buyback 60,000,000 shares. This buyback authorization allows the business services provider to purchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are generally an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Transactions at Fiserv

In other news, COO Guy Chiarello sold 45,000 shares of the firm’s 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 completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 227,711 shares in the company, valued at $53,637,326.05. This trade represents a 16.50 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.75% of the company’s stock.

Fiserv 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.