Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. Increases Stake in Fiserv, Inc. (NYSE:FI)

Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. raised its stake in shares of Fiserv, Inc. (NYSE:FI) by 4.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 9,811 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 414 shares during the quarter. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings in Fiserv were worth $2,015,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. grew its holdings in Fiserv by 3.8% during the 4th quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 88,622 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $18,205,000 after buying an additional 3,210 shares in the last quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank grew its holdings in Fiserv by 11.0% during the 4th quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 293,710 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $60,334,000 after buying an additional 29,164 shares in the last quarter. NBT Bank N A NY grew its holdings in Fiserv by 17.6% during the 4th quarter. NBT Bank N A NY now owns 7,649 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,571,000 after buying an additional 1,143 shares in the last quarter. AlphaQuest LLC grew its holdings in shares of Fiserv by 120.9% in the fourth quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 1,610 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $331,000 after purchasing an additional 881 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jackson Hole Capital Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Fiserv by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. Jackson Hole Capital Partners LLC now owns 12,428 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $2,553,000 after purchasing an additional 191 shares in the last quarter. 90.98% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently weighed in on FI. StockNews.com lowered shares of Fiserv from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Susquehanna raised their target price on shares of Fiserv from $230.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on shares of Fiserv from $238.00 to $260.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Seaport Res Ptn raised shares of Fiserv from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, KeyCorp raised their target price on shares of Fiserv from $250.00 to $270.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-one have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $239.83.

Fiserv Stock Down 0.3 %

NYSE:FI opened at $213.91 on Wednesday. Fiserv, Inc. has a twelve month low of $145.98 and a twelve month high of $238.59. The company has a market cap of $120.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 0.93. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $218.65 and a 200-day simple moving average of $204.00. The company has a current ratio of 1.06, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86.

Fiserv (NYSE:FI) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The business services provider reported $2.51 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.48 by $0.03. Fiserv had a return on equity of 17.93% and a net margin of 15.31%. Analysts anticipate that Fiserv, Inc. will post 10.23 EPS for the current year.

Fiserv declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, February 20th that permits the company to buyback 60,000,000 outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the business services provider to reacquire shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are typically an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity

In other news, COO Guy Chiarello sold 45,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $235.55, for a total transaction of $10,599,750.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 227,711 shares in the company, valued at approximately $53,637,326.05. This trade represents a 16.50 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 0.75% of the company’s stock.

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.