Aviso Financial Inc. Decreases Stock Position in Fiserv, Inc. (NYSE:FI)

Aviso Financial Inc. decreased its stake in shares of Fiserv, Inc. (NYSE:FI) by 17.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 12,891 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 2,674 shares during the quarter. Aviso Financial Inc.’s holdings in Fiserv were worth $2,648,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. FMR LLC raised its holdings in shares of Fiserv by 17.8% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 9,442,476 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,696,341,000 after purchasing an additional 1,427,664 shares in the last quarter. Sanders Capital LLC purchased a new position in Fiserv in the third quarter valued at $764,543,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its stake in Fiserv by 4.7% in the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 3,711,072 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $762,328,000 after buying an additional 164,949 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Fiserv by 2.6% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,620,785 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $743,782,000 after buying an additional 90,475 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in Fiserv in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $614,982,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.98% of the company’s stock.

Fiserv Price Performance

Shares of NYSE FI opened at $209.23 on Friday. 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 twelve month low of $145.98 and a twelve month high of $238.59. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $218.83 and a 200-day simple moving average of $204.09. The company has a market capitalization of $117.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 0.93.

Fiserv (NYSE:FI) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The business services provider reported $2.51 earnings per share (EPS) 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%. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Fiserv, Inc. will post 10.23 earnings per share for the current year.

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently weighed in on FI. Royal Bank of Canada boosted 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. Barclays boosted their price target on Fiserv from $235.00 to $265.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. KeyCorp increased their price objective on Fiserv from $250.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Citigroup boosted their target price on Fiserv from $230.00 to $233.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on Fiserv from $238.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-one have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $239.83.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Fiserv news, COO Guy Chiarello sold 45,000 shares of the firm’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 owns 227,711 shares in the company, valued at approximately $53,637,326.05. This trade represents a 16.50 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.75% of the company’s stock.

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.