Analysts Set Fiserv, Inc. (NYSE:FI) Price Target at $243.64

Fiserv, Inc. (NYSE:FI) has received a consensus rating of “Buy” from the twenty-four brokerages that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-one have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12-month target price among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $243.64.

FI has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on shares of Fiserv from $233.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. KeyCorp increased their price target on shares of Fiserv from $250.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of Fiserv from $230.00 to $233.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised Fiserv from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $246.00 to $260.00 in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Finally, Barclays boosted their price target on Fiserv from $235.00 to $265.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th.

Insider Buying and Selling at Fiserv

In related news, COO Guy Chiarello sold 45,000 shares of Fiserv stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $235.55, for a total value of $10,599,750.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 0.75% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Czech National Bank lifted its stake in Fiserv by 5.2% during the fourth quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 123,353 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $25,339,000 after purchasing an additional 6,072 shares during the last quarter. Chiron Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Fiserv in the 3rd quarter valued at about $4,709,000. Trust Co. of Vermont grew its position in shares of Fiserv by 170.4% during the 4th quarter. Trust Co. of Vermont now owns 6,839 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,405,000 after buying an additional 4,310 shares during the last quarter. Cardano Risk Management B.V. acquired a new stake in Fiserv during the fourth quarter worth about $97,254,000. Finally, M&T Bank Corp lifted its holdings in Fiserv by 12.0% in the third quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 140,460 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $25,234,000 after acquiring an additional 15,103 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 90.98% of the company’s stock.

Fiserv Stock Performance

Shares of FI opened at $195.12 on Friday. Fiserv has a 1 year low of $145.98 and a 1 year high of $238.59. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $221.86 and its 200 day simple moving average is $209.81. The company has a market capitalization of $109.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.20, a PEG ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 0.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a current ratio of 1.06.

Fiserv (NYSE:FI) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The business services provider reported $2.51 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Fiserv will post 10.23 EPS for the current year.

Fiserv announced that its board has initiated a stock repurchase program on Thursday, February 20th that allows the company to buyback 60,000,000 outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the business services provider to repurchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

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.