Wilkins Investment Counsel Inc. Has $9.67 Million Stake in Fiserv, Inc. (NYSE:FI)

Wilkins Investment Counsel Inc. decreased its holdings in shares of Fiserv, Inc. (NYSE:FI) by 5.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 47,093 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 2,660 shares during the quarter. Wilkins Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings in Fiserv were worth $9,674,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of FI. Empowered Funds LLC grew its position in shares of Fiserv by 7.2% during the 3rd quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 9,328 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,676,000 after buying an additional 626 shares during the period. Quest Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Fiserv by 72,800.0% during the 3rd quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 729 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $131,000 after buying an additional 728 shares during the period. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG bought a new position in Fiserv during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $5,398,000. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. boosted its stake in Fiserv by 9.1% during the 3rd quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 145,725 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $26,179,000 after acquiring an additional 12,119 shares during the last quarter. Finally, West Family Investments Inc. boosted its stake in Fiserv by 10.5% during the 3rd quarter. West Family Investments Inc. now owns 2,191 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $394,000 after acquiring an additional 209 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.98% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Fiserv news, COO Guy Chiarello sold 45,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 227,711 shares in the company, valued at $53,637,326.05. The trade was a 16.50 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.75% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on shares of Fiserv from $255.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Compass Point assumed coverage on shares of Fiserv in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. They set a “buy” rating and a $278.00 price objective on the stock. Seaport Res Ptn raised shares of Fiserv from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on shares of Fiserv from $208.00 to $231.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 3rd. Finally, Stephens lifted their price target on shares of Fiserv from $255.00 to $270.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-one have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Fiserv currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $239.83.

Fiserv Price Performance

Shares of FI opened at $220.87 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $123.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.98, a PEG ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 0.93. Fiserv, Inc. has a 1-year low of $145.98 and a 1-year high of $238.59. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $219.78 and its 200 day simple moving average is $205.59. The company has a current ratio of 1.06, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86.

Fiserv (NYSE:FI) last issued 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 net margin of 15.31% and a return on equity of 17.93%. On average, research analysts forecast that Fiserv, Inc. will post 10.23 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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

Fiserv Company 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.