Meiji Yasuda Life Insurance Co Trims Stake in Fiserv, Inc. (NYSE:FI)

Meiji Yasuda Life Insurance Co cut its stake in shares of Fiserv, Inc. (NYSE:FI) by 14.8% in the first quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 3,696 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 640 shares during the period. Meiji Yasuda Life Insurance Co’s holdings in Fiserv were worth $591,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Fiserv by 3.0% in the first quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 17,855 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $2,854,000 after purchasing an additional 513 shares during the period. Kensico Capital Management Corp grew its stake in shares of Fiserv by 8.7% in the first quarter. Kensico Capital Management Corp now owns 1,173,200 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $187,501,000 after buying an additional 94,200 shares in the last quarter. Benchmark Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Fiserv in the 1st quarter valued at $1,902,000. Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI boosted its stake in shares of Fiserv by 57.3% in the first quarter. Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI now owns 563,896 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $90,122,000 after purchasing an additional 205,357 shares during the period. Finally, Paloma Partners Management Co purchased a new stake in shares of Fiserv during the first quarter worth $4,015,000. 90.98% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Fiserv Price Performance

Fiserv stock traded up $0.48 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $163.59. 2,077,130 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,517,673. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 1.06 and a quick ratio of 1.06. Fiserv, Inc. has a 12-month low of $109.11 and a 12-month high of $164.54. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $151.73 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $150.41. The company has a market capitalization of $94.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.49, a PEG ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 0.92.

Fiserv (NYSE:FI) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The business services provider reported $2.13 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.10 by $0.03. Fiserv had a net margin of 17.45% and a return on equity of 16.41%. The business had revenue of $5.11 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.81 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.81 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 7.4% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that Fiserv, Inc. will post 8.73 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on FI shares. KeyCorp lifted their price target on shares of Fiserv from $170.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on shares of Fiserv from $185.00 to $186.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Fiserv from $169.00 to $176.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. Mizuho increased their target price on shares of Fiserv from $156.00 to $168.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 21st. Finally, UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Fiserv from $170.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 24th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-two have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $172.29.

Insider Activity

In other Fiserv news, COO Guy Chiarello sold 24,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $148.47, for a total transaction of $3,563,280.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 163,699 shares in the company, valued at $24,304,390.53. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, COO Guy Chiarello sold 24,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $148.47, for a total transaction of $3,563,280.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 163,699 shares in the company, valued at approximately $24,304,390.53. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP John Gibbons sold 2,800 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 owns 28,323 shares in the company, valued at $4,213,329.48. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 50,800 shares of company stock worth $7,696,448. 0.75% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.