Bahl & Gaynor Inc. Sells 1,076 Shares of Fiserv, Inc. (NYSE:FI)

Bahl & Gaynor Inc. lowered its stake in Fiserv, Inc. (NYSE:FI) by 1.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 65,975 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 1,076 shares during the quarter. Bahl & Gaynor Inc.’s holdings in Fiserv were worth $13,553,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of FI. Valley National Advisers Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Fiserv in the fourth quarter worth $29,000. Marshall Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Fiserv in the fourth quarter worth $29,000. Compass Financial Services Inc bought a new stake in shares of Fiserv in the fourth quarter worth $31,000. Kennebec Savings Bank bought a new stake in shares of Fiserv in the third quarter worth $40,000. Finally, Friedenthal Financial bought a new stake in shares of Fiserv in the fourth quarter worth $49,000. Institutional investors own 90.98% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related 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 completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 227,711 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $53,637,326.05. This represents a 16.50 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.75% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Fiserv Trading Down 5.9 %

FI stock opened at $223.82 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a current ratio of 1.06. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $217.59 and its 200 day simple moving average is $202.24. Fiserv, Inc. has a 52 week low of $145.98 and a 52 week high of $238.59. The company has a market capitalization of $125.63 billion, a PE ratio of 41.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 0.94.

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%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Fiserv, Inc. will post 10.23 earnings per share for the current year.

Fiserv announced that its board has authorized a stock buyback program on Thursday, February 20th that permits the company to buyback 60,000,000 shares. This buyback authorization permits the business services provider to buy shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently commented on the stock. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Fiserv from $258.00 to $267.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on shares of Fiserv from $208.00 to $231.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on shares of Fiserv from $233.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Compass Point started coverage on shares of Fiserv in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. They set a “buy” rating and a $278.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Seaport Res Ptn upgraded shares of Fiserv from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Fiserv presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $239.83.

About Fiserv

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.