John G Ullman & Associates Inc. Cuts Holdings in Fiserv, Inc. (NYSE:FI)

John G Ullman & Associates Inc. decreased its position in shares of Fiserv, Inc. (NYSE:FI) by 2.3% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 43,451 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 1,020 shares during the period. Fiserv makes up approximately 1.1% of John G Ullman & Associates Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 26th biggest position. John G Ullman & Associates Inc.’s holdings in Fiserv were worth $6,944,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Fiserv during the third quarter valued at approximately $5,705,241,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD purchased a new position in shares of Fiserv during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $5,885,279,000. Capital World Investors purchased a new position in shares of Fiserv during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $2,329,623,000. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA purchased a new position in shares of Fiserv during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $960,592,000. Finally, Veritas Asset Management LLP purchased a new position in shares of Fiserv during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $927,298,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.98% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, COO Guy Chiarello sold 23,929 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $151.79, for a total value of $3,632,182.91. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 163,699 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $24,847,871.21. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, COO Guy Chiarello sold 23,929 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $151.79, for a total value of $3,632,182.91. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 163,699 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $24,847,871.21. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP John Gibbons sold 2,800 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $148.76, for a total value of $416,528.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 28,323 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,213,329.48. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 50,729 shares of company stock worth $7,611,991 over the last quarter. 0.75% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

FI has been the subject of several research analyst reports. StockNews.com raised shares of Fiserv from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 26th. Mizuho lifted their price target on shares of Fiserv from $156.00 to $168.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 21st. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on shares of Fiserv from $185.00 to $186.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 24th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on shares of Fiserv from $150.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, March 25th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on shares of Fiserv from $158.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 24th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $165.44.

Fiserv Price Performance

FI traded up $2.36 during trading on Thursday, hitting $151.25. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 2,037,044 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,474,821. The company has a current ratio of 1.06, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81. The firm has a market capitalization of $88.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.27, a P/E/G ratio of 1.22 and a beta of 0.92. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $150.34 and its 200 day simple moving average is $147.99. Fiserv, Inc. has a twelve month low of $109.11 and a twelve month high of $159.99.

Fiserv (NYSE:FI) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 23rd. The business services provider reported $1.88 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.77 by $0.11. Fiserv had a net margin of 16.68% and a return on equity of 15.73%. The firm had revenue of $4.88 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.57 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.58 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Fiserv, Inc. will post 8.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.