Ironwood Investment Counsel LLC Sells 1,103 Shares of Fiserv, Inc. (NYSE:FI)

Ironwood Investment Counsel LLC lowered its position in Fiserv, Inc. (NYSE:FI) by 2.7% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 39,086 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 1,103 shares during the period. Fiserv comprises about 1.4% of Ironwood Investment Counsel LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 15th biggest position. Ironwood Investment Counsel LLC’s holdings in Fiserv were worth $8,029,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in FI. Jacobi Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Fiserv by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Jacobi Capital Management LLC now owns 11,104 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $2,281,000 after buying an additional 44 shares during the period. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust boosted its holdings in shares of Fiserv by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 4,109 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $841,000 after acquiring an additional 45 shares during the last quarter. Catalina Capital Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Fiserv by 2.3% in the 4th quarter. Catalina Capital Group LLC now owns 2,160 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $444,000 after buying an additional 48 shares during the last quarter. Mount Yale Investment Advisors LLC raised its position in Fiserv by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Mount Yale Investment Advisors LLC now owns 4,126 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $848,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares during the period. Finally, Hemington Wealth Management lifted its position in shares of Fiserv by 6.1% during the 4th quarter. Hemington Wealth Management now owns 864 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $177,000 after buying an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. 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 business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 20th. The shares were 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. The trade was a 16.50 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.75% of the company’s stock.

Fiserv Stock Down 1.0 %

Shares of NYSE:FI opened at $209.23 on Friday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $218.83 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $204.09. The firm has a market cap of $117.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.82, a P/E/G ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 0.93. Fiserv, Inc. has a 12 month low of $145.98 and a 12 month high of $238.59. The company has a quick ratio of 1.07, a current ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86.

Fiserv (NYSE:FI) last announced its quarterly 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 return on equity of 17.93% and a net margin of 15.31%. As a group, research analysts forecast that Fiserv, Inc. will post 10.23 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Fiserv declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback program on Thursday, February 20th that authorizes the company to buyback 60,000,000 shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the business services provider to repurchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently issued reports on FI. Susquehanna lifted their price objective on shares of Fiserv from $230.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on shares of Fiserv from $238.00 to $260.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Barclays upped their target price on Fiserv from $235.00 to $265.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Stephens lifted their price objective 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. Finally, Seaport Res Ptn raised shares of Fiserv from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-one have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Fiserv has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $239.83.

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.