Fiserv (NYSE:FI) Raised to Buy at The Goldman Sachs Group

Fiserv (NYSE:FI) was upgraded by investment analysts at The Goldman Sachs Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a report issued on Wednesday,Finviz reports. The brokerage presently has a $260.00 target price on the business services provider’s stock. The Goldman Sachs Group’s price objective points to a potential upside of 17.13% from the company’s current price.

Several other research analysts also recently commented on the stock. Seaport Res Ptn raised shares of Fiserv from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on Fiserv from $255.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Fiserv from $240.00 to $270.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. StockNews.com initiated coverage on shares of Fiserv in a research note on Sunday, March 23rd. They issued a “buy” rating on the stock. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on shares of Fiserv from $238.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-two have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Fiserv presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $243.64.

Fiserv Price Performance

Shares of NYSE FI opened at $221.98 on Wednesday. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $222.51 and a 200-day moving average of $208.84. The stock has a market cap of $124.59 billion, a PE ratio of 41.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 0.93. 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 has a fifty-two week low of $145.98 and a fifty-two week high of $238.59.

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

Fiserv declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, February 20th that permits the company to buyback 60,000,000 shares. This buyback authorization permits the business services provider to reacquire shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are usually a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity

In other news, COO Guy Chiarello sold 45,000 shares of Fiserv stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $235.55, for a total transaction of $10,599,750.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 227,711 shares in the company, valued at approximately $53,637,326.05. This trade represents 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 accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.75% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Benjamin Edwards Inc. grew its stake in shares of Fiserv by 8,027.3% in the third quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 11,622 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,088,000 after acquiring an additional 11,479 shares during the period. Hilltop Holdings Inc. increased its stake in shares of Fiserv by 47.5% in the 3rd quarter. Hilltop Holdings Inc. now owns 4,813 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $865,000 after purchasing an additional 1,549 shares in the last quarter. Investment Management Corp of Ontario raised its holdings in Fiserv by 32.9% in the 3rd quarter. Investment Management Corp of Ontario now owns 25,443 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $4,571,000 after purchasing an additional 6,300 shares during the period. IHT Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in Fiserv by 31.7% during the third quarter. IHT Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,056 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $551,000 after purchasing an additional 735 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Port Capital LLC lifted its position in shares of Fiserv by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter. Port Capital LLC now owns 348,951 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $62,689,000 after buying an additional 2,148 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 90.98% of the company’s stock.

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.