Covington Investment Advisors Inc. Sells 16,556 Shares of Fiserv, Inc. (NYSE:FI)

Covington Investment Advisors Inc. decreased its position in Fiserv, Inc. (NYSE:FI) by 14.5% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 97,911 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 16,556 shares during the quarter. Fiserv makes up approximately 2.3% of Covington Investment Advisors Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 12th largest holding. Covington Investment Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Fiserv were worth $14,593,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Wellington Shields & Co. LLC bought a new stake in Fiserv during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $25,000. RE Dickinson Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Fiserv in the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Family Firm Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Fiserv in the second quarter worth $31,000. ZRC Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Fiserv during the first quarter worth $32,000. Finally, Quarry LP acquired a new position in Fiserv during the 4th quarter valued at $36,000. 90.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Fiserv news, EVP John Gibbons sold 18,890 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $168.21, for a total value of $3,177,486.90. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 28,323 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,764,211.83. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, EVP John Gibbons sold 18,890 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $168.21, for a total value of $3,177,486.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 28,323 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,764,211.83. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Frank Bisignano sold 145,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2,965,084 shares in the company, valued at approximately $525,916,949.08. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 211,890 shares of company stock valued at $36,572,057 in the last 90 days. 0.75% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Fiserv Price Performance

FI opened at $178.38 on Monday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $168.33 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $157.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a current ratio of 1.06. The firm has a market capitalization of $104.37 billion, a PE ratio of 33.34, a P/E/G ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 0.93. Fiserv, Inc. has a 52 week low of $109.11 and a 52 week high of $179.53.

Fiserv (NYSE:FI) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The business services provider reported $2.13 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.10 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $5.11 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.81 billion. Fiserv had a return on equity of 16.41% and a net margin of 17.45%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 7.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.81 earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that Fiserv, Inc. will post 8.74 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. B. Riley boosted their price objective on shares of Fiserv from $180.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 25th. Robert W. Baird upped 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. Morgan Stanley upgraded Fiserv from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $154.00 to $175.00 in a research report on Monday, July 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Fiserv from $176.00 to $199.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 20th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on Fiserv from $178.00 to $184.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. Five equities 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 company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $174.88.

Fiserv Profile

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.