Fiserv (NYSE:FI) Earns Outperform Rating from Royal Bank of Canada

Fiserv (NYSE:FI)‘s stock had its “outperform” rating reissued by Royal Bank of Canada in a research report issued to clients and investors on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. They presently have a $183.00 target price on the business services provider’s stock. Royal Bank of Canada’s target price points to a potential upside of 0.91% from the stock’s current price.

FI has been the topic of a number of other research reports. StockNews.com raised Fiserv from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 26th. William Blair upgraded Fiserv to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on Fiserv from $186.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, September 23rd. Morgan Stanley upgraded Fiserv from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $154.00 to $175.00 in a report on Monday, July 22nd. Finally, Oppenheimer began coverage on Fiserv in a report on Tuesday. They set an “outperform” rating and a $203.00 price target on the stock. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-two have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $176.28.

Fiserv Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:FI traded up $0.04 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $181.35. The stock had a trading volume of 287,119 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,452,662. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a current ratio of 1.06. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $169.23 and a 200-day moving average price of $158.22. The stock has a market cap of $106.11 billion, a PE ratio of 33.90, a PEG ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 0.93. Fiserv has a 1-year low of $109.11 and a 1-year high of $181.88.

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

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP John Gibbons sold 18,890 shares of the firm’s 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 directly owns 28,323 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,764,211.83. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, COO Guy Chiarello sold 24,000 shares of Fiserv stock in a transaction on Monday, July 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $154.86, for a total transaction of $3,716,640.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 163,699 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $25,350,427.14. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 28,323 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,764,211.83. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 211,890 shares of company stock valued at $36,572,057 in the last three months. 0.75% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Fiserv

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of FI. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its position in Fiserv by 0.9% during the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 44,720,962 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $7,147,305,000 after buying an additional 417,459 shares in the last quarter. Capital World Investors increased its position in Fiserv by 7.4% during the first quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 18,840,137 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $3,011,031,000 after buying an additional 1,303,078 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its position in Fiserv by 0.9% during the second quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 7,173,941 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,069,204,000 after buying an additional 64,332 shares in the last quarter. Veritas Asset Management LLP purchased a new position in Fiserv during the fourth quarter worth $927,298,000. Finally, Northern Trust Corp purchased a new position in Fiserv during the fourth quarter worth $784,200,000. 90.98% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.