WealthShield Partners LLC Sells 546 Shares of Fiserv, Inc. (NYSE:FI)

WealthShield Partners LLC cut its holdings in shares of Fiserv, Inc. (NYSE:FI) by 4.5% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 11,456 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 546 shares during the period. WealthShield Partners LLC’s holdings in Fiserv were worth $2,353,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Marshall Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Fiserv during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Valley National Advisers Inc. purchased a new stake in Fiserv during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Compass Financial Services Inc purchased a new stake in Fiserv during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Kennebec Savings Bank purchased a new stake in Fiserv during the third quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Finally, Roxbury Financial LLC purchased a new position in shares of Fiserv in the fourth quarter worth $50,000. 90.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have issued reports on FI shares. KeyCorp raised their price target on shares of Fiserv from $250.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Compass Point started coverage on shares of Fiserv in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. They set a “buy” rating and a $278.00 target price for the company. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Fiserv from $240.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Citigroup raised their target price on shares of Fiserv from $230.00 to $233.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, Tigress Financial raised their target price on shares of Fiserv from $190.00 to $244.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 29th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-two have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $239.83.

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 sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 227,711 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $53,637,326.05. The trade was a 16.50 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.75% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Fiserv Price Performance

Shares of FI stock opened at $232.47 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 1.06 and a quick ratio of 1.07. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $213.81 and its two-hundred day moving average is $198.86. Fiserv, Inc. has a 12 month low of $145.98 and a 12 month high of $237.99. The company has a market capitalization of $132.26 billion, a PE ratio of 43.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 0.94.

Fiserv (NYSE:FI) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The business services provider reported $2.51 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.48 by $0.03. Fiserv had a net margin of 15.31% and a return on equity of 17.93%. Analysts predict that Fiserv, Inc. will post 10.23 earnings per share for the current year.

Fiserv announced that its board has initiated a share repurchase plan 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 plans are generally a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

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.