Anchor Capital Advisors LLC Trims Stock Holdings in Fiserv, Inc. (NYSE:FI)

Anchor Capital Advisors LLC lessened its stake in shares of Fiserv, Inc. (NYSE:FI) by 9.2% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 7,007 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 708 shares during the quarter. Anchor Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings in Fiserv were worth $1,439,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in FI. Marshall Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Fiserv during the 4th quarter worth $29,000. Valley National Advisers Inc. acquired a new position in Fiserv in the fourth quarter valued at $29,000. Compass Financial Services Inc purchased a new position in Fiserv during the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. Kennebec Savings Bank acquired a new stake in Fiserv in the 3rd quarter worth about $40,000. Finally, Roxbury Financial LLC purchased a new stake in Fiserv in the 4th quarter valued at about $50,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.98% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Fiserv news, COO Guy Chiarello sold 45,000 shares of Fiserv stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $235.55, for a total transaction of $10,599,750.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 227,711 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $53,637,326.05. The trade was a 16.50 % decrease in their position. The sale 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 opened at $235.67 on Friday. Fiserv, Inc. has a 12 month low of $145.98 and a 12 month high of $237.99. 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 stock has a fifty day moving average price of $216.68 and a 200 day moving average price of $200.81. The company has a market cap of $132.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 43.72, a PEG ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 0.94.

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, beating the consensus estimate of $2.48 by $0.03. Fiserv had a net margin of 15.31% and a return on equity of 17.93%. On average, research analysts forecast that Fiserv, Inc. will post 10.23 earnings per share for the current year.

Fiserv announced that its Board of Directors has authorized 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 purchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are typically an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Compass Point assumed coverage on shares of Fiserv in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. They set a “buy” rating and a $278.00 price objective on the stock. Seaport Res Ptn raised shares of Fiserv from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on shares of Fiserv from $233.00 to $260.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Fiserv from $240.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on Fiserv from $255.00 to $270.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-one have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $239.83.

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.