Fiserv, Inc. (NYSE:FI) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Fiserv, Inc. (NYSE:FI) has been given a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the twenty-five ratings firms that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat reports. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $165.44.

Several research firms recently weighed in on FI. TD Cowen increased their target price on shares of Fiserv from $167.00 to $175.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 24th. Evercore ISI reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $185.00 price target on shares of Fiserv in a research report on Tuesday, March 26th. Citigroup increased their price target on shares of Fiserv from $171.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 24th. Robert W. Baird increased their price target on shares of Fiserv from $185.00 to $186.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 24th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Fiserv from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 26th.

Fiserv Stock Up 1.5 %

FI stock opened at $149.39 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 1.06 and a quick ratio of 1.06. Fiserv has a 52-week low of $109.11 and a 52-week high of $159.99. The company has a 50-day moving average of $150.78 and a two-hundred day moving average of $147.27. The stock has a market capitalization of $87.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.20 and a beta of 0.92.

Fiserv (NYSE:FI) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 23rd. The business services provider reported $1.88 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.77 by $0.11. Fiserv had a net margin of 16.68% and a return on equity of 15.73%. The company had revenue of $4.88 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.57 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.58 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 7.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Fiserv will post 8.69 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Fiserv

In related news, COO Guy Chiarello sold 23,929 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $151.79, for a total value of $3,632,182.91. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 163,699 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $24,847,871.21. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Fiserv news, COO Guy Chiarello sold 23,929 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $151.79, for a total value of $3,632,182.91. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 163,699 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $24,847,871.21. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP John Gibbons sold 2,800 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $148.76, for a total transaction of $416,528.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 28,323 shares in the company, valued at $4,213,329.48. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 50,729 shares of company stock valued at $7,611,991 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.75% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Fiserv

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Fiserv by 1.6% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 50,506,740 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $5,705,241,000 after purchasing an additional 789,232 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its position in shares of Fiserv by 0.9% during the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 44,720,962 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $7,147,305,000 after purchasing an additional 417,459 shares in the last quarter. Capital World Investors boosted its position in shares of Fiserv by 7.4% during the first quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 18,840,137 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $3,011,031,000 after purchasing an additional 1,303,078 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA bought a new position in shares of Fiserv during the fourth quarter worth $960,592,000. Finally, Veritas Asset Management LLP bought a new position in shares of Fiserv during the fourth quarter worth $927,298,000. 90.98% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.