Settian Capital LP Buys Shares of 7,000 Fiserv, Inc. (NYSE:FI)

Settian Capital LP bought a new stake in Fiserv, Inc. (NYSE:FI) during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund bought 7,000 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,438,000. Fiserv makes up 1.0% of Settian Capital LP’s holdings, making the stock its 25th biggest position.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of FI. Empowered Funds LLC increased its holdings in Fiserv by 7.2% in the 3rd quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 9,328 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,676,000 after buying an additional 626 shares during the period. Quest Partners LLC increased its position in Fiserv by 72,800.0% during the 3rd quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 729 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $131,000 after purchasing an additional 728 shares in the last quarter. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG acquired a new position in Fiserv during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $5,398,000. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. increased its position in Fiserv by 9.1% during the 3rd quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 145,725 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $26,179,000 after purchasing an additional 12,119 shares in the last quarter. Finally, West Family Investments Inc. increased its position in Fiserv by 10.5% during the 3rd quarter. West Family Investments Inc. now owns 2,191 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $394,000 after purchasing an additional 209 shares in the last quarter. 90.98% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Fiserv Stock Up 1.8 %

Shares of NYSE FI opened at $220.87 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $123.97 billion, a PE ratio of 40.98, a P/E/G ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 0.93. Fiserv, Inc. has a 12-month low of $145.98 and a 12-month high of $238.59. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $219.78 and its 200 day simple moving average is $205.59. The company has a quick ratio of 1.07, a current ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86.

Fiserv (NYSE:FI) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The business services provider reported $2.51 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 forecast that Fiserv, Inc. will post 10.23 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Fiserv declared that its board has authorized a stock buyback program on Thursday, February 20th that allows the company to buyback 60,000,000 outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the business services provider to reacquire shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Fiserv news, COO Guy Chiarello sold 45,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 227,711 shares in the company, valued at approximately $53,637,326.05. This represents a 16.50 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.75% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on FI shares. Compass Point started coverage on shares of Fiserv in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. They set a “buy” rating and a $278.00 price objective for the company. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Fiserv from $240.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded shares of Fiserv from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. KeyCorp upped their price target on shares of Fiserv from $250.00 to $270.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of Fiserv from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Three research 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’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Fiserv presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $239.83.

Fiserv 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.