The Goldman Sachs Group Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Fiserv (NYSE:FI) Stock

Fiserv (NYSE:FI) had its price objective lifted by investment analysts at The Goldman Sachs Group from $208.00 to $231.00 in a report issued on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a “neutral” rating on the business services provider’s stock. The Goldman Sachs Group’s price objective would suggest a potential upside of 7.02% from the company’s previous close.

Other research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the company. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on Fiserv from $195.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Barclays upped their price objective on Fiserv from $185.00 to $215.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Stephens upped their price objective on Fiserv from $170.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, October 18th. Oppenheimer assumed coverage on Fiserv in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $203.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Fiserv from $177.00 to $220.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. Four investment 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’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $215.25.

Fiserv Stock Performance

Shares of FI opened at $215.85 on Tuesday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $202.57 and its two-hundred day moving average is $174.55. Fiserv has a 52-week low of $129.60 and a 52-week high of $223.23. The firm has a market cap of $122.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.51, a PEG ratio of 1.67 and a beta of 0.93. The company has a quick ratio of 1.07, a current ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Heidi Miller sold 30,000 shares of Fiserv stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $201.13, for a total transaction of $6,033,900.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 33,235 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,684,555.55. This trade represents a 47.44 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Frank Bisignano sold 145,000 shares of Fiserv stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2,965,084 shares in the company, valued at $525,916,949.08. The trade was a 4.66 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 235,821 shares of company stock valued at $44,299,745 in the last three months. Company insiders own 0.75% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Fiserv

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Family Firm Inc. acquired a new stake in Fiserv in the 2nd quarter valued at $31,000. Clean Yield Group boosted its stake in Fiserv by 431.3% in the 3rd quarter. Clean Yield Group now owns 170 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 138 shares in the last quarter. Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Fiserv by 42.5% in the 3rd quarter. Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC now owns 191 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 57 shares in the last quarter. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. boosted its stake in Fiserv by 95.5% in 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. Finally, Kennebec Savings Bank acquired a new position in Fiserv in the third quarter worth $40,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.98% of the company’s stock.

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.