Monness Crespi & Hardt Downgrades Fiserv (NYSE:FI) to Sell

Monness Crespi & Hardt cut shares of Fiserv (NYSE:FI) from a neutral rating to a sell rating in a report issued on Wednesday morning, Marketbeat reports. They currently have $145.00 price objective on the business services provider’s stock.

FI has been the topic of a number of other reports. Stephens increased their price objective on shares of Fiserv from $255.00 to $270.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on Fiserv from $255.00 to $270.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. KeyCorp raised their price target on Fiserv from $250.00 to $270.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Citigroup upped their price objective on Fiserv from $230.00 to $233.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised Fiserv from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $246.00 to $260.00 in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating, twenty-two have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $239.35.

Fiserv Stock Up 1.8 %

Shares of NYSE FI opened at $207.98 on Wednesday. Fiserv has a 12-month low of $145.98 and a 12-month high of $238.59. The stock has a market cap of $116.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.59, a PEG ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 0.91. The company has a current ratio of 1.06, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $221.27 and its 200-day simple moving average is $210.44.

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

Fiserv announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback program on Thursday, February 20th that authorizes the company to buyback 60,000,000 shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the business services provider to repurchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity at Fiserv

In related news, COO Guy Chiarello sold 45,000 shares of the firm’s 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 completion of 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 at this link. 0.75% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Fiserv

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Czech National Bank boosted its holdings in Fiserv by 5.2% during the fourth quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 123,353 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $25,339,000 after buying an additional 6,072 shares in the last quarter. Chiron Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Fiserv during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $4,709,000. Trust Co. of Vermont grew its holdings in shares of Fiserv by 170.4% in the 4th quarter. Trust Co. of Vermont now owns 6,839 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,405,000 after acquiring an additional 4,310 shares during the period. Cardano Risk Management B.V. purchased a new position in Fiserv in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $97,254,000. Finally, M&T Bank Corp raised its holdings in Fiserv by 12.0% during the third quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 140,460 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $25,234,000 after purchasing an additional 15,103 shares during the last quarter. 90.98% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.