Cannell & Spears LLC Lowers Position in Fiserv, Inc. (NYSE:FI)

Cannell & Spears LLC trimmed its position in Fiserv, Inc. (NYSE:FI) by 14.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 183,795 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 31,477 shares during the period. Cannell & Spears LLC’s holdings in Fiserv were worth $37,755,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Fiserv during the 4th quarter valued at about $1,406,452,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of Fiserv during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $614,982,000. Alliancebernstein L.P. lifted its holdings 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 valued at $1,116,919,000 after purchasing an additional 2,153,554 shares during the last quarter. Madison Investment Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Fiserv in the 4th quarter worth approximately $134,710,000. Finally, Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC increased its position in Fiserv by 788.7% during the 3rd quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC now owns 632,554 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $109,700,000 after buying an additional 561,377 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 90.98% of the company’s stock.

Fiserv Stock Down 1.4 %

Shares of FI stock opened at $216.15 on Monday. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $222.00 and its 200 day moving average price is $208.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 1.06 and a quick ratio of 1.07. Fiserv, Inc. has a 1-year low of $145.98 and a 1-year high of $238.59. The company has a market cap of $121.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 0.93.

Fiserv (NYSE:FI) last announced 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, research analysts expect that Fiserv, Inc. will post 10.23 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Fiserv declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share 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 reacquire shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity at Fiserv

In related 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 sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 227,711 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $53,637,326.05. This represents a 16.50 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.75% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on Fiserv from $208.00 to $231.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on shares of Fiserv from $255.00 to $270.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Oppenheimer increased their price target on shares of Fiserv from $214.00 to $239.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of Fiserv from $230.00 to $233.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, Susquehanna increased their target price on Fiserv from $230.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-one have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $242.32.

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.