Fiserv (NYSE:FI) Upgraded at Stephens

Stephens upgraded shares of Fiserv (NYSE:FI) from an equal weight rating to an overweight rating in a research report report published on Wednesday, Marketbeat.com reports. The brokerage currently has $255.00 price objective on the business services provider’s stock, up from their prior price objective of $220.00.

A number of other brokerages also recently weighed in on FI. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Fiserv from $215.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on shares of Fiserv from $183.00 to $224.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. UBS Group increased their price objective on Fiserv from $185.00 to $240.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. KeyCorp boosted their target price on Fiserv from $180.00 to $225.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on Fiserv from $222.00 to $232.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, November 18th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-two have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $222.88.

Fiserv Price Performance

FI stock opened at $206.05 on Wednesday. Fiserv has a 1 year low of $131.41 and a 1 year high of $223.23. The stock has a market capitalization of $117.23 billion, a PE ratio of 39.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 0.93. The company’s 50-day moving average is $207.37 and its 200-day moving average is $178.87. 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 (NYSE:FI) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The business services provider reported $2.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.26 by $0.04. Fiserv had a return on equity of 17.10% and a net margin of 15.22%. The business had revenue of $5.22 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.90 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.96 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 7.0% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that Fiserv will post 8.77 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Fiserv

In other Fiserv news, Director Doyle Simons sold 40,000 shares of Fiserv stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $201.97, for a total transaction of $8,078,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 76,180 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $15,386,074.60. The trade was a 34.43 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Heidi Miller sold 30,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $201.13, for a total value of $6,033,900.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 33,235 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,684,555.55. This represents a 47.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 90,821 shares of company stock worth $18,581,095 over the last three months. 0.75% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Fiserv

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Waypoint Capital Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Fiserv by 1.7% in the third quarter. Waypoint Capital Advisors LLC now owns 3,118 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $560,000 after purchasing an additional 51 shares during the last quarter. Optas LLC grew its holdings in Fiserv by 1.7% in the 3rd quarter. Optas LLC now owns 3,216 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $578,000 after acquiring an additional 54 shares during the last quarter. Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC increased its position 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 acquiring an additional 57 shares during the period. Covestor Ltd raised its stake in shares of Fiserv by 7.6% during the third quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 832 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $150,000 after acquiring an additional 59 shares during the last quarter. Finally, West Bancorporation Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Fiserv by 3.8% during the third quarter. West Bancorporation Inc. now owns 1,648 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $296,000 after purchasing an additional 61 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.98% of the company’s stock.

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.