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

Shares of Fiserv, Inc. (NYSE:FI) have been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty-eight research firms that are covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. Five 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 1-year price objective among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $174.32.

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. William Blair raised shares of Fiserv to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. Citigroup upgraded Fiserv to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. Morgan Stanley upgraded Fiserv from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $154.00 to $175.00 in a research report on Monday, July 22nd. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on shares of Fiserv from $180.00 to $183.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. Finally, Mizuho increased their target price on shares of Fiserv from $156.00 to $168.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 21st.

Fiserv Price Performance

NYSE FI opened at $174.89 on Monday. The business’s fifty day moving average is $163.69 and its two-hundred day moving average is $155.90. The stock has a market capitalization of $102.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.69, a P/E/G ratio of 1.38 and a beta of 0.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a current ratio of 1.06. Fiserv has a 1 year low of $109.11 and a 1 year high of $175.48.

Fiserv (NYSE:FI) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 24th. The business services provider reported $2.13 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.10 by $0.03. Fiserv had a net margin of 17.45% and a return on equity of 16.41%. The firm had revenue of $5.11 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.81 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.81 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 7.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast that Fiserv will post 8.74 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Fiserv news, COO Guy Chiarello sold 24,000 shares of Fiserv stock in a transaction on Monday, July 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $154.86, for a total value of $3,716,640.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 163,699 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $25,350,427.14. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Fiserv news, COO Guy Chiarello sold 24,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $154.86, for a total transaction of $3,716,640.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 163,699 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $25,350,427.14. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP John Gibbons sold 18,890 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $168.21, for a total transaction of $3,177,486.90. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 28,323 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,764,211.83. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 66,890 shares of company stock worth $10,853,407 in the last three months. 0.75% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Fiserv

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Wellington Shields & Co. LLC purchased a new position in shares of Fiserv during the first quarter worth $25,000. GW&K Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Fiserv in the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. RE Dickinson Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Fiserv during the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Family Firm Inc. acquired a new position in Fiserv during the 2nd quarter worth $31,000. Finally, ZRC Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Fiserv in the first quarter valued at approximately $32,000. 90.98% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other 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.