Swiss National Bank Reduces Position in Fiserv, Inc. (NYSE:FI)

Swiss National Bank decreased its position in Fiserv, Inc. (NYSE:FI) by 6.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 1,626,386 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 110,300 shares during the period. Swiss National Bank owned about 0.29% of Fiserv worth $334,092,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in FI. Valley National Advisers Inc. bought a new stake in Fiserv in the 4th quarter worth $29,000. Marshall Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Fiserv during the fourth quarter valued at about $29,000. Compass Financial Services Inc purchased a new stake in shares of Fiserv during the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. Knuff & Co LLC bought a new stake in shares of Fiserv in the fourth quarter worth about $45,000. Finally, Friedenthal Financial purchased a new position in Fiserv during the 4th quarter valued at about $49,000. 90.98% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Fiserv Stock Down 1.1 %

Shares of Fiserv stock opened at $211.10 on Thursday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $218.77 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $204.05. The stock has a market capitalization of $118.49 billion, a PE ratio of 39.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 0.93. Fiserv, Inc. has a 52-week low of $145.98 and a 52-week high of $238.59. 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 announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The business services provider reported $2.51 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.48 by $0.03. Fiserv had a net margin of 15.31% and a return on equity of 17.93%. On average, 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 stock buyback 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. Stock repurchase programs are typically a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity

In other news, COO Guy Chiarello sold 45,000 shares of Fiserv stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 20th. The shares were 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. The trade was a 16.50 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.75% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

FI has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Susquehanna increased their price objective on Fiserv from $230.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. Citigroup raised their price target on Fiserv from $230.00 to $233.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on shares of Fiserv from $255.00 to $270.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on shares of Fiserv from $208.00 to $231.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Finally, KeyCorp lifted their target price on shares of Fiserv from $250.00 to $270.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-one have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Fiserv currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price 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.