GLOBALT Investments LLC GA Decreases Position in Fiserv, Inc. (NYSE:FI)

GLOBALT Investments LLC GA cut its position in Fiserv, Inc. (NYSE:FI) by 1.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 12,607 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 178 shares during the period. GLOBALT Investments LLC GA’s holdings in Fiserv were worth $2,590,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of FI. Valley National Advisers Inc. purchased a new position in Fiserv in the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. Marshall Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Fiserv in the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. Compass Financial Services Inc purchased a new position in Fiserv in the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. Campbell Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in Fiserv in the fourth quarter worth about $37,000. Finally, Knuff & Co LLC purchased a new position in Fiserv in the fourth quarter worth about $45,000. 90.98% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, COO Guy Chiarello sold 45,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 owns 227,711 shares in the company, valued at approximately $53,637,326.05. This represents a 16.50 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.75% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Fiserv Stock Performance

FI opened at $214.91 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 1.06 and a quick ratio of 1.07. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $218.96 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $204.87. Fiserv, Inc. has a 1-year low of $145.98 and a 1-year high of $238.59. The firm has a market cap of $120.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.87, 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 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.48 by $0.03. Fiserv had a net margin of 15.31% and a return on equity of 17.93%. Equities analysts forecast that Fiserv, Inc. will post 10.23 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently weighed in on FI. Susquehanna boosted their price objective on shares of Fiserv from $230.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. Oppenheimer boosted their price objective on shares of Fiserv from $214.00 to $239.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on shares of Fiserv from $255.00 to $270.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on shares of Fiserv from $233.00 to $260.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Stephens boosted their price objective on shares of Fiserv from $255.00 to $270.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-one have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $239.83.

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.