Fiserv, Inc. (NYSE:FI) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Fiserv, Inc. (NYSE:FI) has been given an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the twenty-six brokerages that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-one have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $224.00.

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Fiserv from $199.00 to $227.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on Fiserv from $195.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on Fiserv from $225.00 to $238.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on Fiserv from $186.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, September 23rd. Finally, Tigress Financial increased their price objective on Fiserv from $190.00 to $244.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 29th.

Insider Activity

In related news, CAO Kenneth Best sold 20,821 shares of Fiserv 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 sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 38,771 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,320,644.31. The trade was a 34.94 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Doyle Simons sold 40,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $201.97, for a total value of $8,078,800.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 76,180 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,386,074.60. This trade represents a 34.43 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 90,821 shares of company stock valued at $18,581,095. Company insiders own 0.75% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Fiserv

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Clean Yield Group grew its holdings in shares of Fiserv by 431.3% during the third quarter. Clean Yield Group now owns 170 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 138 shares in the last quarter. Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Fiserv by 42.5% in the third quarter. Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC now owns 191 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 57 shares during the last quarter. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Fiserv by 95.5% in the second quarter. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 260 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 127 shares in the last quarter. Kennebec Savings Bank acquired a new position in Fiserv during the third quarter worth $40,000. Finally, Northwest Investment Counselors LLC bought a new position in Fiserv in the third quarter valued at $44,000. 90.98% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Fiserv Trading Up 1.2 %

Shares of NYSE:FI opened at $208.67 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a current ratio of 1.07. The stock has a market capitalization of $118.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.13, a PEG ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 0.94. Fiserv has a 1-year low of $136.93 and a 1-year high of $223.23. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $209.45 and a 200 day moving average price of $186.76.

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

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.