Fiserv (NYSE:FI) Reaches New 1-Year High Following Earnings Beat

Fiserv, Inc. (NYSE:FI) hit a new 52-week high during trading on Wednesday following a better than expected earnings announcement. The company traded as high as $225.76 and last traded at $228.72, with a volume of 314250 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $214.22.

The business services provider reported $2.51 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.48 by $0.03. Fiserv had a net margin of 15.22% and a return on equity of 17.10%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

FI has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Oppenheimer boosted their price objective on shares of Fiserv from $214.00 to $239.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Stephens reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $255.00 price target on shares of Fiserv in a research note on Thursday, January 2nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on Fiserv from $225.00 to $238.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Susquehanna lifted their price objective on Fiserv from $190.00 to $230.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a report on Friday, October 18th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Fiserv from $199.00 to $227.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Three research 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $224.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CAO Kenneth Best sold 20,821 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $214.61, for a total transaction of $4,468,394.81. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 38,771 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,320,644.31. This trade represents a 34.94 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.75% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Fiserv

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in FI. Czech National Bank lifted its position in shares of Fiserv by 5.2% in the 3rd quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 117,281 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $21,070,000 after purchasing an additional 5,784 shares during the period. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC raised its stake in Fiserv by 4.4% during the third quarter. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC now owns 9,247 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,661,000 after buying an additional 393 shares during the last quarter. Clean Yield Group lifted its holdings in Fiserv by 431.3% in the third 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 during the period. Atomi Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in Fiserv by 18.2% during the third quarter. Atomi Financial Group Inc. now owns 4,894 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $879,000 after acquiring an additional 753 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Country Trust Bank grew its holdings in Fiserv by 4.3% during the 3rd quarter. Country Trust Bank now owns 298,179 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $53,568,000 after acquiring an additional 12,241 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.98% of the company’s stock.

Fiserv Stock Performance

The company has a current ratio of 1.07, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $208.45 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $192.25. The stock has a market capitalization of $130.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 44.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 0.94.

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.