Short Interest in Fiserv, Inc. (NYSE:FI) Declines By 5.8%

Fiserv, Inc. (NYSE:FI) was the target of a significant drop in short interest in the month of July. As of July 15th, there was short interest totalling 7,530,000 shares, a drop of 5.8% from the June 30th total of 7,990,000 shares. Approximately 1.3% of the company’s stock are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 2,450,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 3.1 days.

Fiserv Trading Up 0.3 %

Shares of FI opened at $163.12 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 1.06 and a quick ratio of 1.06. Fiserv has a 1-year low of $109.11 and a 1-year high of $164.46. The stock has a market cap of $93.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 0.92. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $151.73 and a 200-day simple moving average of $150.41.

Fiserv (NYSE:FI) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 24th. The business services provider reported $2.13 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.10 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $5.11 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.81 billion. Fiserv had a return on equity of 16.41% and a net margin of 17.45%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.81 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that Fiserv will post 8.73 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other Fiserv news, EVP John Gibbons sold 2,800 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $148.76, for a total transaction of $416,528.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 28,323 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,213,329.48. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other Fiserv news, EVP John Gibbons sold 2,800 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $148.76, for a total transaction of $416,528.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 28,323 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,213,329.48. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, COO Guy Chiarello sold 24,000 shares of Fiserv stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $148.47, for a total value of $3,563,280.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 163,699 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $24,304,390.53. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 50,800 shares of company stock valued at $7,696,448. 0.75% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Fiserv

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Meritage Portfolio Management acquired a new stake in shares of Fiserv during the fourth quarter worth $995,000. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in Fiserv in the 4th quarter valued at about $78,000. Liberty Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Fiserv during the 4th quarter valued at about $7,071,000. Birch Hill Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Fiserv in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $84,583,000. Finally, Graypoint LLC acquired a new position in Fiserv during the fourth quarter worth approximately $3,732,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.98% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on FI shares. StockNews.com raised shares of Fiserv from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 26th. Stephens reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and set a $165.00 price target on shares of Fiserv in a report on Wednesday, April 24th. Mizuho increased their price objective on Fiserv from $156.00 to $168.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 21st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on Fiserv from $178.00 to $184.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. Finally, B. Riley increased their price target on shares of Fiserv from $180.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-two have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Fiserv has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $172.29.

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.