HM Payson & Co. Sells 187 Shares of Fiserv, Inc. (NYSE:FI)

HM Payson & Co. reduced its stake in Fiserv, Inc. (NYSE:FI) by 0.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 43,889 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 187 shares during the quarter. HM Payson & Co.’s holdings in Fiserv were worth $9,016,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Sanders Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Fiserv during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $764,543,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in Fiserv during the fourth quarter worth $614,982,000. FMR LLC grew its position in Fiserv by 17.8% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 9,442,476 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,696,341,000 after purchasing an additional 1,427,664 shares in the last quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC increased its stake in Fiserv by 788.7% in the 3rd quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC now owns 632,554 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $109,700,000 after buying an additional 561,377 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mizuho Securities USA LLC increased its stake in Fiserv by 1,238.6% in the 3rd quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 603,887 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $108,488,000 after buying an additional 558,774 shares during the last quarter. 90.98% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Fiserv news, COO Guy Chiarello sold 45,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the chief operating officer now owns 227,711 shares in the company, valued at $53,637,326.05. This trade represents a 16.50 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.75% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Fiserv Stock Down 0.9 %

Shares of NYSE FI opened at $218.04 on Friday. Fiserv, Inc. has a 52 week low of $145.98 and a 52 week high of $238.59. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $218.31 and its 200 day moving average is $202.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a current ratio of 1.06. The stock has a market capitalization of $122.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.45, a PEG ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 0.93.

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

Fiserv announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase program on Thursday, February 20th that permits the company to buyback 60,000,000 outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the business services provider to reacquire shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Stephens raised their price objective on Fiserv from $255.00 to $270.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Susquehanna raised their price target on Fiserv from $230.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on Fiserv from $255.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Citigroup increased their price objective on Fiserv from $230.00 to $233.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on shares of Fiserv from $233.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Three research 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 stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $239.83.

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.