Westover Capital Advisors LLC Raises Stake in Fiserv, Inc. (NYSE:FI)

Westover Capital Advisors LLC boosted its position in Fiserv, Inc. (NYSE:FI) by 42.5% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 9,082 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,708 shares during the period. Westover Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings in Fiserv were worth $1,866,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI boosted its position in Fiserv by 18.7% in the 4th quarter. Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI now owns 3,824 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $789,000 after purchasing an additional 603 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in Fiserv by 2.6% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,620,785 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $743,782,000 after purchasing an additional 90,475 shares in the last quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC boosted its position in Fiserv by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 120,595 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $24,773,000 after purchasing an additional 1,443 shares in the last quarter. Mission Wealth Management LP boosted its position in Fiserv by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. Mission Wealth Management LP now owns 20,621 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $4,236,000 after purchasing an additional 298 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Financial Council LLC purchased a new stake in Fiserv in the 4th quarter worth approximately $200,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.98% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have commented on FI shares. KeyCorp upped their price objective on Fiserv from $250.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Fiserv from $240.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Barclays upped their target price on Fiserv from $235.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on Fiserv from $238.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Compass Point initiated coverage on Fiserv in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. They set a “buy” rating and a $278.00 target price for the company. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-one have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $239.83.

Fiserv Stock Up 0.8 %

Shares of NYSE:FI opened at $237.65 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.07, a current ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86. The business has a fifty day moving average of $217.30 and a two-hundred day moving average of $201.84. The stock has a market cap of $133.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 44.09, a PEG ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 0.94. Fiserv, Inc. has a 52-week low of $145.98 and a 52-week high of $238.59.

Fiserv (NYSE:FI) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The business services provider reported $2.51 earnings per share (EPS) 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%. On average, research analysts expect that Fiserv, Inc. will post 10.23 earnings per share for the current year.

Fiserv declared that its board has authorized a share repurchase program on Thursday, February 20th that allows the company to buyback 60,000,000 shares. This buyback authorization allows the business services provider to purchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at Fiserv

In other news, COO Guy Chiarello sold 45,000 shares of the 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 transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 227,711 shares in the company, valued at approximately $53,637,326.05. This represents a 16.50 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.75% of the stock is 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.