Verdence Capital Advisors LLC Sells 8,961 Shares of Fiserv, Inc. (NYSE:FI)

Verdence Capital Advisors LLC trimmed its position in shares of Fiserv, Inc. (NYSE:FI) by 17.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 42,202 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 8,961 shares during the period. Fiserv makes up 0.7% of Verdence Capital Advisors LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 28th biggest holding. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings in Fiserv were worth $8,669,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of FI. Valley National Advisers Inc. bought a new stake in Fiserv during the fourth quarter valued at about $29,000. Marshall Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Fiserv in the fourth quarter valued at about $29,000. Compass Financial Services Inc bought a new stake in shares of Fiserv in the fourth quarter valued at about $31,000. Kennebec Savings Bank bought a new stake in shares of Fiserv in the third quarter valued at about $40,000. Finally, Friedenthal Financial bought a new stake in shares of Fiserv in the fourth quarter valued at about $49,000. 90.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, COO Guy Chiarello sold 45,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 227,711 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $53,637,326.05. The trade was a 16.50 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.75% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Stephens increased their target price on shares of Fiserv from $255.00 to $270.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Compass Point assumed coverage on shares of Fiserv in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $278.00 target price for the company. StockNews.com cut shares of Fiserv from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Fiserv from $240.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on shares of Fiserv from $208.00 to $231.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 3rd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-one have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $239.83.

Fiserv Price Performance

FI opened at $223.82 on Wednesday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $217.59 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $202.24. 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, Inc. has a 52 week low of $145.98 and a 52 week high of $238.59. The firm has a market capitalization of $125.63 billion, a PE ratio of 41.52, a P/E/G ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 0.94.

Fiserv (NYSE:FI) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The business services provider reported $2.51 EPS 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%. As a group, analysts anticipate that Fiserv, Inc. will post 10.23 earnings per share for the current year.

Fiserv declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, February 20th that permits the company to repurchase 60,000,000 shares. This repurchase authorization permits the business services provider to buy shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

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.