Proficio Capital Partners LLC Acquires 775 Shares of Fiserv, Inc. (NYSE:FI)

Proficio Capital Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Fiserv, Inc. (NYSE:FI) by 48.9% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 2,361 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 775 shares during the period. Proficio Capital Partners LLC’s holdings in Fiserv were worth $485,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Valley National Advisers Inc. bought a new position in Fiserv in the fourth quarter valued at $29,000. Marshall Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Fiserv in the 4th quarter worth about $29,000. Compass Financial Services Inc bought a new position in shares of Fiserv during the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. Friedenthal Financial purchased a new position in shares of Fiserv during the 4th quarter valued at about $49,000. Finally, Roxbury Financial LLC bought a new stake in Fiserv in the 4th quarter worth approximately $50,000. 90.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Fiserv news, COO Guy Chiarello sold 45,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 227,711 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $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 accessible through this link. 0.75% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Fiserv Price Performance

Shares of NYSE FI opened at $221.90 on Tuesday. Fiserv, Inc. has a 1 year low of $145.98 and a 1 year high of $238.59. The stock has a market capitalization of $124.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 41.17, a P/E/G ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 0.93. The company’s 50-day moving average is $220.87 and its 200 day moving average is $206.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 1.06 and a quick ratio of 1.07.

Fiserv (NYSE:FI) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The business services provider reported $2.51 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.48 by $0.03. Fiserv had a return on equity of 17.93% and a net margin of 15.31%. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Fiserv, Inc. will post 10.23 earnings per share for the current year.

Fiserv announced that its board has authorized a stock repurchase program on Thursday, February 20th that authorizes the company to repurchase 60,000,000 outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the business services provider to reacquire shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are often a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Ratings Changes

FI has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Fiserv from $240.00 to $270.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Susquehanna lifted their target price on shares of Fiserv from $230.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Oppenheimer boosted their price target on shares of Fiserv from $214.00 to $239.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Barclays raised their price objective on Fiserv from $235.00 to $265.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on Fiserv from $208.00 to $231.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 3rd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-one have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price 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.