Brokerages Set Fiserv, Inc. (NASDAQ:FISV) PT at $127.14

Shares of Fiserv, Inc. (NASDAQ:FISV – Get Rating) have been assigned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty-five brokerages that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 1 year target price among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $127.14.

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on FISV shares. StockNews.com started coverage on Fiserv in a research note on Thursday. They issued a “hold” rating for the company. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on Fiserv from $132.00 to $138.00 in a research report on Wednesday, February 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Fiserv from $121.00 to $132.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 8th. Susquehanna upped their price target on Fiserv from $135.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 8th. Finally, Barclays upped their price target on Fiserv from $125.00 to $140.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 8th.

Fiserv Price Performance

Shares of FISV opened at $108.17 on Thursday. Fiserv has a 1 year low of $87.03 and a 1 year high of $119.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 1.04 and a quick ratio of 1.04. The company has a market capitalization of $67.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.23 and a beta of 0.86. The business has a 50-day moving average of $110.27 and a 200-day moving average of $103.73.

Fiserv (NASDAQ:FISV – Get Rating) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 7th. The business services provider reported $1.91 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.91. The firm had revenue of $4.63 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.35 billion. Fiserv had a return on equity of 13.32% and a net margin of 14.26%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.57 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Fiserv will post 7.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Fiserv declared that its board has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, February 23rd that permits the company to buyback 75,000,000 outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the business services provider to purchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are generally a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity

In other news, COO Guy Chiarello sold 8,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $114.74, for a total transaction of $917,920.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 211,356 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $24,250,987.44. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In related news, Director Holdings L.P. Valueact sold 675,014 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $101.51, for a total value of $68,520,671.14. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 11,647,776 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,182,365,741.76. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, COO Guy Chiarello sold 8,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $114.74, for a total value of $917,920.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 211,356 shares in the company, valued at $24,250,987.44. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 1,755,044 shares of company stock valued at $179,073,098 in the last ninety days. 1.00% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Fiserv

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Morgan Stanley raised its holdings in Fiserv by 131.3% during the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 9,980,646 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,008,744,000 after acquiring an additional 5,666,145 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Fiserv during the fourth quarter valued at about $547,079,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its holdings in Fiserv by 10.2% during the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 53,232,748 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $5,380,233,000 after acquiring an additional 4,926,365 shares during the period. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Fiserv by 135,763.7% during the fourth quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 4,588,117 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $463,721,000 after acquiring an additional 4,584,740 shares during the period. Finally, CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC raised its holdings in Fiserv by 106.0% during the fourth quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 4,847,837 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $489,971,000 after acquiring an additional 2,494,196 shares during the period. 88.79% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Fiserv

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Fiserv, Inc engages in the provision of financial services technology. It operates through the following segments: Merchant Acceptance, Financial Technology, and Payments and Network. The Merchant Acceptance segment provides commerce enabling solutions and serves merchants of all sizes around the world.