Compass Point Initiates Coverage on Fiserv (NYSE:FI)

Stock analysts at Compass Point assumed coverage on shares of Fiserv (NYSE:FI) in a note issued to investors on Wednesday, MarketBeat reports. The firm set a “buy” rating and a $278.00 price target on the business services provider’s stock. Compass Point’s price objective indicates a potential upside of 27.78% from the company’s previous close.

FI has been the subject of a number of other reports. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on shares of Fiserv from $222.00 to $232.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday. BTIG Research began coverage on Fiserv in a research note on Wednesday, August 28th. They set a “buy” rating and a $200.00 price target for the company. StockNews.com raised Fiserv from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 26th. UBS Group upped their target price on Fiserv from $185.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Stephens increased their price target on Fiserv from $170.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, October 18th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-one have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $214.29.

Fiserv Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE FI opened at $217.55 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 1.07 and a quick ratio of 1.07. Fiserv has a one year low of $125.05 and a one year high of $219.11. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $194.83 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $170.25. The company has a market capitalization of $123.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 41.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 0.92.

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

Insider Activity

In other news, CAO Kenneth Best sold 20,821 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $214.61, for a total value 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 approximately $8,320,644.31. This represents a 34.94 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Frank Bisignano sold 145,000 shares of the firm’s 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 2,965,084 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $525,916,949.08. This trade represents a 4.66 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 235,821 shares of company stock worth $44,299,745. Company insiders own 0.75% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Sanders Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Fiserv in the 3rd quarter worth about $764,543,000. FMR LLC boosted its position in Fiserv by 17.8% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 9,442,476 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,696,341,000 after buying an additional 1,427,664 shares in the last quarter. Maj Invest Holding A S bought a new stake in Fiserv during the third quarter worth about $172,993,000. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Fiserv during the second quarter worth approximately $105,031,000. Finally, Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Fiserv by 788.7% in the third quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC now owns 632,554 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $109,700,000 after acquiring an additional 561,377 shares during the last quarter. 90.98% of the stock is currently 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.