Nomura Holdings Inc. Boosts Holdings in Fiserv, Inc. (NYSE:FI)

Nomura Holdings Inc. boosted its stake in Fiserv, Inc. (NYSE:FI) by 172.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 30,951 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 19,609 shares during the period. Nomura Holdings Inc.’s holdings in Fiserv were worth $6,358,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of FI. Trust Co. of Vermont boosted its stake in Fiserv by 170.4% during the 4th quarter. Trust Co. of Vermont now owns 6,839 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,405,000 after purchasing an additional 4,310 shares during the period. Root Financial Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Fiserv in the fourth quarter valued at about $257,000. Merit Financial Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Fiserv by 146.9% during the fourth quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 19,803 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $4,068,000 after buying an additional 11,783 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Fiserv by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 929,193 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $190,875,000 after buying an additional 7,183 shares during the period. Finally, USAdvisors Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Fiserv during the fourth quarter worth about $322,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.98% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have commented on FI. Monness Crespi & Hardt downgraded Fiserv from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $145.00 price objective for the company. in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. Redburn Atlantic reissued a “sell” rating and issued a $150.00 target price on shares of Fiserv in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Barclays decreased their price target on Fiserv from $265.00 to $230.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 28th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Fiserv from $240.00 to $270.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Piper Sandler set a $218.00 price objective on shares of Fiserv in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating, twenty-two have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $230.00.

Fiserv Stock Performance

Shares of FI stock opened at $158.95 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a current ratio of 1.06. The stock has a market cap of $88.13 billion, a PE ratio of 29.49, a P/E/G ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 0.97. Fiserv, Inc. has a 1 year low of $146.25 and a 1 year high of $238.59. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $203.19 and a 200 day moving average price of $210.49.

Fiserv (NYSE:FI) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 24th. The business services provider reported $2.14 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.08 by $0.06. Fiserv had a net margin of 15.31% and a return on equity of 17.93%. The business had revenue of $4.79 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.86 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.88 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 5.1% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that Fiserv, Inc. will post 10.23 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Fiserv announced that its Board of Directors has initiated 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 often a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, COO Guy Chiarello sold 45,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 227,711 shares in the company, valued at $53,637,326.05. This represents a 16.50% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.74% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.