LVZ Inc. Cuts Stock Holdings in Fiserv, Inc. (NYSE:FI)

LVZ Inc. reduced its holdings in shares of Fiserv, Inc. (NYSE:FI) by 7.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 3,280 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 270 shares during the period. LVZ Inc.’s holdings in Fiserv were worth $674,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Fiserv by 1.5% in the 3rd quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 228,083 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $40,975,000 after purchasing an additional 3,457 shares during the period. PDS Planning Inc increased its stake in Fiserv by 18.6% during the 3rd quarter. PDS Planning Inc now owns 3,397 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $610,000 after purchasing an additional 532 shares in the last quarter. W.H. Cornerstone Investments Inc. bought a new position in Fiserv in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $204,000. Geneva Partners LLC increased its holdings in Fiserv by 24.0% in the 3rd quarter. Geneva Partners LLC now owns 28,181 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $5,063,000 after buying an additional 5,460 shares in the last quarter. Finally, HF Advisory Group LLC boosted its holdings in Fiserv by 6.5% in the third quarter. HF Advisory Group LLC now owns 4,418 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $794,000 after purchasing an additional 270 shares during the last quarter. 90.98% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, COO Guy Chiarello sold 45,000 shares of Fiserv stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chief operating officer now 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 0.75% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

FI has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Oppenheimer raised their target price on Fiserv from $214.00 to $239.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Fiserv from $235.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Citigroup increased their price target on Fiserv from $230.00 to $233.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Seaport Res Ptn raised Fiserv from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on shares of Fiserv from $255.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-one have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $239.83.

Fiserv Price Performance

Shares of FI opened at $223.82 on Wednesday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $217.59 and its two-hundred day moving average is $202.24. The company has a market capitalization of $125.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 41.52, a P/E/G ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 0.94. Fiserv, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $145.98 and a fifty-two 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 posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The business services provider reported $2.51 EPS for the quarter, topping 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%. Research analysts predict that Fiserv, Inc. will post 10.23 earnings per share for the current year.

Fiserv announced that its board has approved 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 repurchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

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.