Versant Capital Management Inc Grows Stock Holdings in Fiserv, Inc. (NYSE:FI)

Versant Capital Management Inc increased its position in shares of Fiserv, Inc. (NYSE:FI) by 40.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 610 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 175 shares during the period. Versant Capital Management Inc’s holdings in Fiserv were worth $125,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Clean Yield Group increased its holdings in shares of Fiserv by 431.3% in 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 during the last quarter. 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 valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 57 shares in the last quarter. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. increased its stake in Fiserv by 95.5% in the second quarter. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 260 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 127 shares during the last quarter. Kennebec Savings Bank acquired a new stake in Fiserv during the third quarter worth approximately $40,000. Finally, Northwest Investment Counselors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Fiserv during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $44,000. 90.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently commented on FI shares. Compass Point assumed coverage on shares of Fiserv in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. They set a “buy” rating and a $278.00 price target on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Fiserv from $215.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. TD Cowen boosted their target price on Fiserv from $200.00 to $230.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. UBS Group raised their price target on Fiserv from $185.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Stephens reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $255.00 price objective on shares of Fiserv in a report on Thursday. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-two have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Fiserv has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $222.88.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CAO Kenneth Best sold 20,821 shares of Fiserv stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $214.61, for a total value of $4,468,394.81. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 38,771 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,320,644.31. This trade represents a 34.94 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Doyle Simons sold 40,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $201.97, for a total transaction of $8,078,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 76,180 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $15,386,074.60. The trade was a 34.43 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 90,821 shares of company stock valued at $18,581,095. Insiders own 0.75% of the company’s stock.

Fiserv Trading Up 1.3 %

Shares of Fiserv stock opened at $208.57 on Friday. Fiserv, Inc. has a 1 year low of $131.95 and a 1 year high of $223.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 1.07 and a quick ratio of 1.07. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $209.10 and a 200 day moving average price of $182.52. The company has a market capitalization of $118.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.11, a P/E/G ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 0.93.

Fiserv (NYSE:FI) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The business services provider reported $2.30 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.26 by $0.04. Fiserv had a return on equity of 17.10% and a net margin of 15.22%. The firm had revenue of $5.22 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.90 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.96 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 7.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Fiserv, Inc. will post 8.77 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.