First Foundation Advisors Takes Position in Fiserv, Inc. (NYSE:FI)

First Foundation Advisors acquired a new position in Fiserv, Inc. (NYSE:FI) in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund acquired 1,025 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $211,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Accredited Investors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Fiserv in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $361,000. Scotia Capital Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Fiserv by 24.6% in the 4th quarter. Scotia Capital Inc. now owns 16,283 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $3,345,000 after buying an additional 3,215 shares in the last quarter. CenterBook Partners LP increased its position in Fiserv by 420.4% during the fourth quarter. CenterBook Partners LP now owns 18,171 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $3,733,000 after buying an additional 14,679 shares during the period. DRW Securities LLC increased its holdings in shares of Fiserv by 4.5% in the 4th quarter. DRW Securities LLC now owns 5,344 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,098,000 after acquiring an additional 228 shares during the period. Finally, TRUE Private Wealth Advisors raised its holdings in shares of Fiserv by 11.8% in the fourth quarter. TRUE Private Wealth Advisors now owns 1,711 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $352,000 after buying an additional 181 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.98% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Fiserv

In other Fiserv news, COO Guy Chiarello sold 45,000 shares of the firm’s 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 transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 227,711 shares of the company’s stock, 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 document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.75% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently commented on FI shares. Barclays raised their price target on Fiserv from $235.00 to $265.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Fiserv from $240.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Fiserv from $258.00 to $267.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on Fiserv from $255.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, KeyCorp raised their price objective on Fiserv from $250.00 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 assigned a hold rating, twenty-two have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Fiserv presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $239.35.

Fiserv Trading Up 1.8 %

Shares of Fiserv stock opened at $207.98 on Friday. 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, Inc. has a 12-month low of $145.98 and a 12-month high of $238.59. The company has a market cap of $116.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.59, a PEG ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 0.91. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $221.27 and its 200-day moving average price is $210.44.

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, topping the consensus estimate of $2.48 by $0.03. Fiserv had a net margin of 15.31% and a return on equity of 17.93%. On average, equities analysts expect that Fiserv, Inc. will post 10.23 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Fiserv declared that its board has authorized a stock buyback plan on Thursday, February 20th that authorizes the company to buyback 60,000,000 shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the business services provider to purchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is 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.