Fiserv (NASDAQ:FISV) Upgraded at Cantor Fitzgerald

Cantor Fitzgerald upgraded shares of Fiserv (NASDAQ:FISV) to a hold rating in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other brokerages have also commented on FISV. Sanford C. Bernstein lowered shares of Fiserv from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $205.00 to $80.00 in a report on Thursday, October 30th. Citigroup reduced their target price on shares of Fiserv from $128.00 to $75.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Argus reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Fiserv in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $122.00 price target on shares of Fiserv in a report on Thursday, October 16th. Finally, William Blair downgraded Fiserv from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 29th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twenty-three have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $113.34.

Fiserv Trading Down 2.3%

Shares of FISV opened at $63.43 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a current ratio of 1.08. The company has a market cap of $34.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.80, a PEG ratio of 3.72 and a beta of 0.80. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $66.28 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $102.96. Fiserv has a 52-week low of $59.56 and a 52-week high of $238.59.

Fiserv (NASDAQ:FISV) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The business services provider reported $2.04 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.64 by ($0.60). Fiserv had a return on equity of 19.47% and a net margin of 17.05%.The business had revenue of $4.92 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.37 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.30 EPS. Fiserv’s revenue for the quarter was up .9% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict that Fiserv will post 10.23 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Adam L. Rosman purchased 7,900 shares of Fiserv stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 2nd. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $63.19 per share, for a total transaction of $499,201.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 61,285 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,872,599.15. This trade represents a 14.80% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Paul M. Todd acquired 17,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 1st. The shares were bought at an average cost of $62.41 per share, with a total value of $1,060,970.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief financial officer owned 24,453 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,526,111.73. This trade represents a 228.10% increase in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. Corporate insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Fiserv

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Comprehensive Financial Consultants Institutional Inc. bought a new position in Fiserv during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,464,000. Comerica Bank acquired a new stake in Fiserv in the fourth quarter worth $5,182,000. Middleton & Co. Inc. MA bought a new position in shares of Fiserv during the fourth quarter worth $563,000. Eads & Heald Wealth Management bought a new position in shares of Fiserv during the fourth quarter worth $715,000. Finally, First National Bank & Trust Co. of Newtown acquired a new position in shares of Fiserv in the 4th quarter valued at $287,000. 90.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Fiserv Company Profile

Fiserv, Inc, founded in 1984 and headquartered in Brookfield, Wisconsin, is a global provider of financial services technology. The company develops and delivers integrated solutions for payments, processing, risk and compliance, customer and channel management, and business insights and optimization. Serving thousands of clients, Fiserv supports banks, credit unions, securities broker-dealers, leasing and finance companies, and retailers.

Fiserv’s core offerings include account processing systems that automate deposit, lending and transaction processing for financial institutions, as well as digital banking platforms that enable mobile and online banking services.