Provident Trust Co. Purchases 17,272 Shares of Fiserv, Inc. (NYSE:FI)

Provident Trust Co. grew its holdings in shares of Fiserv, Inc. (NYSE:FI) by 1.6% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 1,103,584 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 17,272 shares during the period. Fiserv accounts for 3.6% of Provident Trust Co.’s portfolio, making the stock its 11th largest position. Provident Trust Co.’s holdings in Fiserv were worth $198,259,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Wellington Shields & Co. LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Fiserv in the 1st quarter worth $25,000. Family Firm Inc. acquired a new stake in Fiserv in the second quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Clean Yield Group boosted its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 138 shares in the last quarter. Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC grew its stake in Fiserv by 42.5% during the 3rd quarter. Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC now owns 191 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 57 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. increased its position 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 buying an additional 127 shares in the last quarter. 90.98% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Fiserv Stock Performance

Shares of FI stock opened at $210.79 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.07, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85. Fiserv, Inc. has a 12-month low of $118.42 and a 12-month high of $212.84. The business’s 50 day moving average is $187.37 and its two-hundred day moving average is $166.39. The company has a market capitalization of $119.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.54, a P/E/G ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 0.92.

Fiserv (NYSE:FI) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The business services provider reported $2.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.26 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $5.22 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.90 billion. Fiserv had a net margin of 15.22% and a return on equity of 17.10%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.96 EPS. Analysts expect that Fiserv, Inc. will post 8.77 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on FI. Oppenheimer assumed coverage on Fiserv in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. They set an “outperform” rating and a $203.00 price target on the stock. B. Riley upped their price target on shares of Fiserv from $180.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Fiserv from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 26th. Stephens upped their target price on Fiserv from $170.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Finally, William Blair upgraded Fiserv to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. Four investment 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 company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Fiserv presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $207.25.

Insider Activity at Fiserv

In other Fiserv news, COO Guy Chiarello sold 24,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $164.97, for a total transaction of $3,959,280.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 163,699 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $27,005,424.03. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, EVP John Gibbons sold 18,890 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $168.21, for a total value of $3,177,486.90. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 28,323 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,764,211.83. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, COO Guy Chiarello sold 24,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $164.97, for a total value of $3,959,280.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 163,699 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $27,005,424.03. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 257,890 shares of company stock valued at $46,968,117. 0.75% of the stock is owned by corporate 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.