Raymond James Financial Inc. Purchases Shares of 2,993,781 Fiserv, Inc. (NYSE:FI)

Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Fiserv, Inc. (NYSE:FI) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 2,993,781 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $614,982,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. owned 0.53% of Fiserv as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. HF Advisory Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Fiserv by 6.5% in the third quarter. HF Advisory Group LLC now owns 4,418 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $794,000 after acquiring an additional 270 shares during the period. Catalina Capital Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Fiserv by 9.5% in the third quarter. Catalina Capital Group LLC now owns 2,112 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $379,000 after acquiring an additional 184 shares during the period. Wisconsin Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Fiserv by 0.3% in the third quarter. Wisconsin Capital Management LLC now owns 21,175 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $3,804,000 after acquiring an additional 70 shares during the period. 1834 Investment Advisors Co. bought a new position in shares of Fiserv in the third quarter worth about $310,000. Finally, Radnor Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Fiserv in the third quarter worth about $1,543,000. Institutional investors own 90.98% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, COO Guy Chiarello sold 45,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 20th. The stock was 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 owns 227,711 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $53,637,326.05. This represents a 16.50 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.75% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on FI shares. Compass Point started coverage on Fiserv in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $278.00 price objective for the company. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Fiserv from $258.00 to $267.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on Fiserv from $208.00 to $231.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Oppenheimer boosted their target price on Fiserv from $214.00 to $239.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on Fiserv from $238.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-one have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Fiserv currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $239.83.

Fiserv Trading Up 1.0 %

FI opened at $226.07 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $126.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.94, a P/E/G ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 0.93. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $217.92 and its 200-day moving average price is $202.41. Fiserv, Inc. has a one year low of $145.98 and a one year high of $238.59. 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 (NYSE:FI) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The business services provider reported $2.51 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.48 by $0.03. Fiserv had a return on equity of 17.93% and a net margin of 15.31%. On average, equities analysts forecast that Fiserv, Inc. will post 10.23 EPS for the current year.

Fiserv declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase program on Thursday, February 20th that permits the company to repurchase 60,000,000 outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the business services provider to buy shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are typically an indication that the company’s leadership 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.