Abacus Planning Group Inc. Boosts Holdings in Fiserv, Inc. (NYSE:FI)

Abacus Planning Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Fiserv, Inc. (NYSE:FI) by 12.3% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 8,364 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 919 shares during the quarter. Abacus Planning Group Inc.’s holdings in Fiserv were worth $1,503,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD bought a new stake in shares of Fiserv in the fourth quarter worth about $5,885,279,000. Veritas Asset Management LLP purchased a new position in Fiserv during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $927,298,000. Northern Trust Corp bought a new stake in Fiserv in the 4th quarter worth approximately $784,200,000. BlueSpruce Investments LP purchased a new stake in shares of Fiserv during the 4th quarter worth approximately $646,368,000. Finally, ValueAct Holdings L.P. bought a new position in shares of Fiserv during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $556,446,000. Institutional investors own 90.98% of the company’s stock.

Fiserv Stock Up 0.6 %

Shares of NYSE:FI opened at $182.44 on Thursday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $169.66 and its 200 day moving average is $158.39. The stock has a market cap of $106.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 0.93. Fiserv, Inc. has a 52-week low of $109.11 and a 52-week high of $182.56. The company has a quick ratio of 1.06, a current ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85.

Fiserv (NYSE:FI) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The business services provider reported $2.13 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.10 by $0.03. Fiserv had a return on equity of 16.41% and a net margin of 17.45%. The firm had revenue of $5.11 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.81 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.81 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.4% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that Fiserv, Inc. will post 8.74 EPS for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently weighed in on FI. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Fiserv from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $154.00 to $175.00 in a research report on Monday, July 22nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on shares of Fiserv from $178.00 to $184.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. William Blair raised shares of Fiserv to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. TD Cowen boosted their price objective on Fiserv from $182.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, StockNews.com raised Fiserv from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 26th. Four 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $177.64.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP John Gibbons sold 18,890 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $168.21, for a total transaction of $3,177,486.90. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 28,323 shares in the company, valued at $4,764,211.83. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other Fiserv news, COO Guy Chiarello sold 24,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $154.86, for a total value of $3,716,640.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 163,699 shares in the company, valued at $25,350,427.14. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP John Gibbons sold 18,890 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $168.21, for a total transaction of $3,177,486.90. Following the sale, 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. In the last quarter, insiders sold 211,890 shares of company stock worth $36,572,057. 0.75% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Fiserv 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.