1,759 Shares in Fiserv, Inc. (NYSE:FI) Acquired by Accredited Investors Inc.

Accredited Investors Inc. bought a new stake in Fiserv, Inc. (NYSE:FI) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 1,759 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $361,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Fiserv by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 11,891,207 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,435,280,000 after purchasing an additional 218,833 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC increased its position in shares of Fiserv by 22.5% in the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 11,568,895 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $2,376,482,000 after purchasing an additional 2,126,419 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its stake in Fiserv by 16.2% in the fourth quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 8,030,889 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,649,705,000 after buying an additional 1,121,597 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Fiserv in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,406,452,000. Finally, Alliancebernstein L.P. grew its position in shares of Fiserv by 65.6% during the fourth quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 5,437,246 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,116,919,000 after acquiring an additional 2,153,554 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.98% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Fiserv

In other Fiserv news, COO Guy Chiarello sold 45,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $235.55, for a total transaction of $10,599,750.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 227,711 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $53,637,326.05. This represents a 16.50 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.75% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. Seaport Res Ptn raised Fiserv from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on Fiserv from $255.00 to $270.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Susquehanna upped their target price on shares of Fiserv from $230.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. KeyCorp boosted their price target on Fiserv from $250.00 to $270.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Stephens boosted their target price on shares of Fiserv from $255.00 to $270.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating, twenty-two have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Fiserv has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $239.35.

Fiserv Stock Performance

NYSE:FI opened at $208.18 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 1.06, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86. The stock has a market capitalization of $116.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 0.91. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $221.65 and a 200-day moving average of $210.03. Fiserv, Inc. has a 1 year low of $145.98 and a 1 year high of $238.59.

Fiserv (NYSE:FI) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The business services provider reported $2.51 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.48 by $0.03. Fiserv had a net margin of 15.31% and a return on equity of 17.93%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Fiserv, Inc. will post 10.23 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Fiserv declared that its Board of Directors has authorized 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. Shares buyback plans are typically a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Fiserv Company 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.