Meridian Wealth Advisors LLC Trims Stock Holdings in Fiserv, Inc. (NYSE:FI)

Meridian Wealth Advisors LLC lowered its position in Fiserv, Inc. (NYSE:FI) by 2.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 25,819 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 541 shares during the quarter. Meridian Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Fiserv were worth $5,304,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of FI. Stevens Capital Management LP purchased a new stake in shares of Fiserv during the 4th quarter valued at $852,000. LPL Financial LLC raised its stake in Fiserv by 28.6% in the 4th quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 504,684 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $103,672,000 after acquiring an additional 112,144 shares during the last quarter. Optimum Investment Advisors raised its stake in shares of Fiserv by 1.6% during the 4th quarter. Optimum Investment Advisors now owns 4,790 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $984,000 after buying an additional 75 shares during the last quarter. Fox Run Management L.L.C. purchased a new position in shares of Fiserv during the 4th quarter valued at about $781,000. Finally, KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS purchased a new position in shares of Fiserv during the 4th quarter valued at about $43,330,000. Institutional investors own 90.98% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, COO Guy Chiarello sold 45,000 shares of Fiserv stock in a transaction dated 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 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.75% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

FI has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. StockNews.com cut Fiserv from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on Fiserv from $208.00 to $231.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on Fiserv from $233.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Susquehanna lifted their price target on shares of Fiserv from $230.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on Fiserv from $238.00 to $260.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research 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 given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $239.83.

Fiserv Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:FI opened at $218.01 on Friday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $220.46 and a 200 day moving average price of $206.23. 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 company has a market cap of $122.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.45, a PEG ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 0.93. Fiserv, Inc. has a twelve month low of $145.98 and a twelve month high of $238.59.

Fiserv (NYSE:FI) last released 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%. Research analysts predict that Fiserv, Inc. will post 10.23 earnings per share for the current year.

Fiserv announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase program on Thursday, February 20th that permits the company to buyback 60,000,000 shares. This buyback authorization permits the business services provider to buy shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Fiserv 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.