KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS Invests $43.33 Million in Fiserv, Inc. (NYSE:FI)

KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS acquired a new position in shares of Fiserv, Inc. (NYSE:FI) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 210,936 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $43,330,000.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. FMR LLC raised its position in shares of Fiserv by 17.8% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 9,442,476 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,696,341,000 after acquiring an additional 1,427,664 shares during the last quarter. Sanders Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Fiserv during the third quarter worth approximately $764,543,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its stake in Fiserv by 4.7% during the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 3,711,072 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $762,328,000 after purchasing an additional 164,949 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in Fiserv by 2.6% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,620,785 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $743,782,000 after purchasing an additional 90,475 shares during the period. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in Fiserv during the fourth quarter worth approximately $614,982,000. 90.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Fiserv Stock Performance

Shares of Fiserv stock opened at $218.01 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $122.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 0.93. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $220.46 and its 200 day simple moving average is $206.01. 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.

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, beating 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, analysts anticipate that Fiserv, Inc. will post 10.23 EPS for the current year.

Fiserv announced that its board has initiated a share repurchase plan on Thursday, February 20th that authorizes the company to buyback 60,000,000 outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the business services provider to repurchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are generally an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at Fiserv

In other Fiserv news, COO Guy Chiarello sold 45,000 shares of the business’s 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 in the company, valued at $53,637,326.05. The trade was a 16.50 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.75% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

FI has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Stephens raised their target price on Fiserv from $255.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Citigroup raised their price objective on Fiserv from $230.00 to $233.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on Fiserv from $233.00 to $260.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Fiserv from $258.00 to $267.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Susquehanna raised their price objective on Fiserv from $230.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-one have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target 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.