Fiserv, Inc. (NYSE:FI) is C WorldWide Group Holding A S’s 9th Largest Position

C WorldWide Group Holding A S lowered its position in Fiserv, Inc. (NYSE:FI) by 8.3% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 1,778,860 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 160,810 shares during the period. Fiserv comprises approximately 4.5% of C WorldWide Group Holding A S’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 9th largest position. C WorldWide Group Holding A S’s holdings in Fiserv were worth $365,413,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of FI. Valley National Advisers Inc. purchased a new stake in Fiserv in the fourth quarter worth approximately $29,000. Marshall Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Fiserv in the fourth quarter worth approximately $29,000. Compass Financial Services Inc purchased a new stake in Fiserv in the fourth quarter worth approximately $31,000. Kennebec Savings Bank purchased a new stake in Fiserv in the third quarter worth approximately $40,000. Finally, Friedenthal Financial purchased a new stake in Fiserv in the fourth quarter worth approximately $49,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.98% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, COO Guy Chiarello sold 45,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 0.75% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have issued reports on FI. Compass Point began coverage on Fiserv in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $278.00 target price for the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on Fiserv from $238.00 to $260.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on Fiserv from $208.00 to $231.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 3rd. KeyCorp boosted their price objective on Fiserv from $250.00 to $270.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Oppenheimer boosted their price objective on Fiserv from $214.00 to $239.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-two have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Fiserv presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $239.83.

Fiserv Price Performance

FI opened at $232.47 on Monday. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $213.81 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $198.86. 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 company has a market cap of $132.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 43.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 0.94. Fiserv, Inc. has a 12-month low of $145.98 and a 12-month high of $237.99.

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 analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.48 by $0.03. Fiserv had a return on equity of 17.93% and a net margin of 15.31%. Research analysts predict that Fiserv, Inc. will post 10.23 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Fiserv announced that its board has approved a share repurchase program on Thursday, February 20th that authorizes the company to repurchase 60,000,000 outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the business services provider to repurchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are usually an indication that the company’s management 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.