Marietta Investment Partners LLC Grows Stock Position in Fiserv, Inc. (NYSE:FI)

Marietta Investment Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Fiserv, Inc. (NYSE:FI) by 0.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 47,302 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 89 shares during the quarter. Fiserv makes up 2.1% of Marietta Investment Partners LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 12th largest holding. Marietta Investment Partners LLC’s holdings in Fiserv were worth $9,717,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in FI. Soros Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Fiserv by 71.7% in the third quarter. Soros Capital Management LLC now owns 54,797 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $9,844,000 after buying an additional 22,884 shares during the last quarter. Czech National Bank raised its stake in shares of Fiserv by 5.2% in the fourth quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 123,353 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $25,339,000 after purchasing an additional 6,072 shares during the last quarter. Chiron Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Fiserv in the third quarter worth about $4,709,000. Trust Co. of Vermont raised its stake in shares of Fiserv by 170.4% in the fourth 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 last quarter. Finally, Cardano Risk Management B.V. acquired a new stake in Fiserv during the fourth quarter worth about $97,254,000. Institutional investors own 90.98% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the company. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on Fiserv from $255.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on Fiserv from $233.00 to $260.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Oppenheimer boosted their target price on Fiserv from $214.00 to $239.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on Fiserv from $238.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Seaport Res Ptn raised Fiserv from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-one have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $239.83.

Insider Buying and Selling at Fiserv

In other Fiserv news, COO Guy Chiarello sold 45,000 shares of Fiserv stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.75% of the company’s stock.

Fiserv Trading Down 1.7 %

Shares of Fiserv stock opened at $218.01 on Friday. Fiserv, Inc. has a 12-month low of $145.98 and a 12-month high of $238.59. The stock has a market cap of $122.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.45, a P/E/G ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 0.93. The company has a quick ratio of 1.07, a current ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86. The business’s 50 day moving average is $220.46 and its 200-day moving average is $206.01.

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

Fiserv declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback 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 reacquire shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically an indication that the company’s leadership 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.