Birmingham Capital Management Co. Inc. AL Takes $218,000 Position in Fiserv, Inc. (NYSE:FI)

Birmingham Capital Management Co. Inc. AL purchased a new stake in Fiserv, Inc. (NYSE:FI) in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 1,212 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $218,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Family Firm Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Fiserv in the second quarter worth $31,000. Clean Yield Group lifted its stake in Fiserv by 431.3% in the 3rd quarter. Clean Yield Group now owns 170 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 138 shares in the last quarter. Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Fiserv by 42.5% in the 3rd quarter. Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC now owns 191 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 57 shares in the last quarter. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. grew its stake in Fiserv by 95.5% during the 2nd quarter. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 260 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $39,000 after acquiring an additional 127 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Kennebec Savings Bank acquired a new position in shares of Fiserv in the 3rd quarter valued at about $40,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.98% of the company’s stock.

Fiserv Stock Performance

FI stock traded up $0.06 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $204.91. The stock had a trading volume of 434,140 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,521,012. Fiserv, Inc. has a 52 week low of $131.41 and a 52 week high of $223.23. The company has a current ratio of 1.07, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $205.41 and a 200 day simple moving average of $176.59. The firm has a market capitalization of $116.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.39, a P/E/G ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 0.93.

Fiserv (NYSE:FI) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The business services provider reported $2.30 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.26 by $0.04. Fiserv had a net margin of 15.22% and a return on equity of 17.10%. The business had revenue of $5.22 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.90 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.96 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 7.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Fiserv, Inc. will post 8.77 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Frank Bisignano sold 145,000 shares of Fiserv stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $177.37, for a total transaction of $25,718,650.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2,965,084 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $525,916,949.08. This trade represents a 4.66 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CAO Kenneth Best sold 20,821 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $214.61, for a total transaction of $4,468,394.81. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 38,771 shares in the company, valued at $8,320,644.31. This represents a 34.94 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 235,821 shares of company stock worth $44,299,745. Company insiders own 0.75% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently commented on FI. TD Cowen raised their price target on shares of Fiserv from $200.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Susquehanna lifted their target price on shares of Fiserv from $190.00 to $230.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a research note on Friday, October 18th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on Fiserv from $222.00 to $232.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, November 18th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on Fiserv from $208.00 to $231.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on Fiserv from $183.00 to $224.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-one have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Fiserv presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $217.50.

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.