Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp Raises Stock Holdings in Fiserv, Inc. (NYSE:FI)

Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp increased its stake in shares of Fiserv, Inc. (NYSE:FI) by 3.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 59,624 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,750 shares during the quarter. Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp’s holdings in Fiserv were worth $12,247,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Ilmarinen Mutual Pension Insurance Co grew its position in shares of Fiserv by 41.7% in the fourth quarter. Ilmarinen Mutual Pension Insurance Co now owns 85,000 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $17,461,000 after purchasing an additional 25,000 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd. grew its holdings in Fiserv by 11.2% in the 4th quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 433,440 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $89,081,000 after buying an additional 43,807 shares during the period. Wedbush Securities Inc. increased its stake in shares of Fiserv by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. Wedbush Securities Inc. now owns 10,099 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $2,075,000 after acquiring an additional 149 shares during the last quarter. Aviva PLC lifted its holdings in shares of Fiserv by 7.9% during the 4th quarter. Aviva PLC now owns 346,821 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $71,244,000 after acquiring an additional 25,256 shares during the period. Finally, KCM Investment Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Fiserv by 58.2% in the fourth quarter. KCM Investment Advisors LLC now owns 2,258 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $464,000 after acquiring an additional 831 shares during the last quarter. 90.98% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Fiserv Trading Down 8.4 %

Shares of FI opened at $198.77 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a current ratio of 1.06. Fiserv, Inc. has a one year low of $145.98 and a one year high of $238.59. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $222.85 and a 200 day moving average price of $209.66. The company has a market capitalization of $111.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.88, a P/E/G ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 0.91.

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, 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%. Sell-side analysts forecast that Fiserv, Inc. will post 10.23 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Fiserv announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback program on Thursday, February 20th that allows the company to buyback 60,000,000 outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the business services provider to repurchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Transactions at Fiserv

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 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.75% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

FI has been the subject of several research analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on shares of Fiserv from $233.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Fiserv from $258.00 to $267.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on Fiserv from $238.00 to $260.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Oppenheimer raised their price objective on Fiserv from $214.00 to $239.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on Fiserv from $255.00 to $270.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-two have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $243.64.

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.