Fiserv, Inc. (NYSE:FI) Short Interest Update

Fiserv, Inc. (NYSE:FI) was the recipient of a significant decrease in short interest during the month of September. As of September 15th, there was short interest totalling 8,790,000 shares, a decrease of 5.5% from the August 31st total of 9,300,000 shares. Currently, 1.5% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 2,390,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 3.7 days.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Fiserv news, EVP John Gibbons sold 18,890 shares of Fiserv stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 28,323 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,764,211.83. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, CEO Frank Bisignano sold 145,000 shares of Fiserv stock in a transaction on Friday, September 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $177.37, for a total value of $25,718,650.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2,965,084 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $525,916,949.08. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP John Gibbons sold 18,890 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $168.21, for a total value of $3,177,486.90. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 28,323 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,764,211.83. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 211,890 shares of company stock valued at $36,572,057. 0.75% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Fiserv

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of FI. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD bought a new stake in shares of Fiserv during the fourth quarter worth $5,885,279,000. Capital World Investors bought a new position in shares of Fiserv during the 4th quarter worth about $2,329,623,000. Veritas Asset Management LLP acquired a new position in shares of Fiserv during the fourth quarter worth approximately $927,298,000. Northern Trust Corp bought a new position in shares of Fiserv in the fourth quarter valued at $784,200,000. Finally, BlueSpruce Investments LP acquired a new position in Fiserv during the 4th quarter valued at about $646,368,000. 90.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Fiserv Stock Performance

FI stock traded up $1.27 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $179.65. 2,130,539 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,466,129. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $168.33 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $157.79. The firm has a market capitalization of $105.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.27, a P/E/G ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 0.93. Fiserv has a 12 month low of $109.11 and a 12 month high of $179.95. The company has a current ratio of 1.06, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85.

Fiserv (NYSE:FI) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The business services provider reported $2.13 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.10 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $5.11 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.81 billion. Fiserv had a net margin of 17.45% and a return on equity of 16.41%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 7.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.81 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that Fiserv will post 8.74 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

FI has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Citigroup raised shares of Fiserv to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on shares of Fiserv from $186.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, September 23rd. BTIG Research assumed coverage on shares of Fiserv in a research report on Wednesday, August 28th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $200.00 price objective for the company. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on Fiserv from $168.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on Fiserv from $178.00 to $184.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-two have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $174.88.

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.