Fiserv, Inc. (NYSE:FI) Shares Sold by Ironwood Investment Counsel LLC

Ironwood Investment Counsel LLC lowered its holdings in shares of Fiserv, Inc. (NYSE:FI) by 2.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 39,086 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 1,103 shares during the period. Fiserv comprises 1.4% of Ironwood Investment Counsel LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 15th largest holding. Ironwood Investment Counsel LLC’s holdings in Fiserv were worth $8,029,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in FI. Sigma Planning Corp boosted its holdings in Fiserv by 16.7% in the third quarter. Sigma Planning Corp now owns 5,372 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $965,000 after acquiring an additional 767 shares during the last quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. increased its position in Fiserv by 0.8% during the 3rd quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 10,064 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,808,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. Savvy Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in Fiserv in the third quarter valued at approximately $238,000. Schrum Private Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Fiserv during the third quarter valued at approximately $216,000. Finally, Plato Investment Management Ltd raised its stake in shares of Fiserv by 3.8% in the 3rd quarter. Plato Investment Management Ltd now owns 21,490 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $3,857,000 after acquiring an additional 779 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.98% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Fiserv

In related news, COO Guy Chiarello sold 45,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $235.55, for a total transaction 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 approximately $53,637,326.05. This represents a 16.50 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 0.75% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on FI shares. Seaport Res Ptn raised Fiserv from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. StockNews.com cut shares of Fiserv from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Fiserv from $240.00 to $270.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Susquehanna upped their price objective on shares of Fiserv from $230.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on Fiserv from $208.00 to $231.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 3rd. Three 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $239.83.

Fiserv Trading Down 1.0 %

Shares of FI stock opened at $209.23 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a current ratio of 1.06. Fiserv, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $145.98 and a fifty-two week high of $238.59. The company has a market cap of $117.44 billion, a PE ratio of 38.82, a P/E/G ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 0.93. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $218.83 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $204.09.

Fiserv (NYSE:FI) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The business services provider reported $2.51 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.48 by $0.03. Fiserv had a net margin of 15.31% and a return on equity of 17.93%. Equities analysts predict that Fiserv, Inc. will post 10.23 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Fiserv declared that its board has authorized a share repurchase plan on Thursday, February 20th that permits the company to buyback 60,000,000 outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the business services provider to purchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

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.