Jefferies Financial Group Raises Fiserv (NYSE:FI) Price Target to $195.00

Fiserv (NYSE:FI) had its target price lifted by research analysts at Jefferies Financial Group from $160.00 to $195.00 in a research note issued on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a “hold” rating on the business services provider’s stock. Jefferies Financial Group’s price objective would suggest a potential downside of 0.84% from the company’s current price.

A number of other research analysts have also issued reports on FI. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Fiserv from $176.00 to $199.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 20th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on shares of Fiserv from $178.00 to $184.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. TD Cowen lifted their target price on shares of Fiserv from $182.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. StockNews.com raised Fiserv from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 26th. Finally, Barclays lifted their price objective on Fiserv from $185.00 to $215.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-two have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $182.04.

Fiserv Price Performance

Shares of NYSE FI traded up $2.63 on Wednesday, hitting $196.65. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,273,668 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,449,121. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 1.06 and a quick ratio of 1.06. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $174.80 and a 200-day moving average of $160.39. Fiserv has a 12-month low of $109.11 and a 12-month high of $196.93. The company has a market capitalization of $115.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.44 and a beta of 0.93.

Fiserv (NYSE:FI) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The business services provider reported $2.13 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.10 by $0.03. Fiserv had a return on equity of 16.41% and a net margin of 17.45%. The firm had revenue of $5.11 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.81 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.81 EPS. Fiserv’s quarterly revenue was up 7.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts predict that Fiserv will post 8.74 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Fiserv

In other Fiserv news, COO Guy Chiarello sold 24,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $164.97, for a total value of $3,959,280.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 163,699 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $27,005,424.03. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, EVP John Gibbons sold 18,890 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $168.21, for a total value of $3,177,486.90. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 28,323 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,764,211.83. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, COO Guy Chiarello sold 24,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $164.97, for a total value of $3,959,280.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 163,699 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $27,005,424.03. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 187,890 shares of company stock valued at $32,855,417 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.75% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Fiserv

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Wellington Shields & Co. LLC bought a new stake in Fiserv in the first quarter valued at about $25,000. Family Firm Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Fiserv in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Clean Yield Group raised its position in shares of Fiserv by 431.3% during the 3rd quarter. Clean Yield Group now owns 170 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 138 shares in the last quarter. ZRC Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Fiserv during the first quarter worth $32,000. Finally, Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Fiserv by 42.5% in the third quarter. Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC now owns 191 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 57 shares during the period. 90.98% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.