Fiserv, Inc. (NYSE:FI) Shares Bought by Washington Trust Advisors Inc.

Washington Trust Advisors Inc. raised its position in Fiserv, Inc. (NYSE:FI) by 283.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 952 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 704 shares during the period. Washington Trust Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Fiserv were worth $196,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Catalina Capital Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Fiserv by 9.5% during the third quarter. Catalina Capital Group LLC now owns 2,112 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $379,000 after acquiring an additional 184 shares during the last quarter. 1834 Investment Advisors Co. acquired a new stake in shares of Fiserv during the third quarter valued at $310,000. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Fiserv by 9.8% during the third quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC now owns 12,342 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $2,217,000 after acquiring an additional 1,105 shares during the last quarter. Two Point Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Fiserv by 1.2% during the third quarter. Two Point Capital Management Inc. now owns 50,611 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $9,092,000 after acquiring an additional 590 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Graypoint LLC boosted its stake in shares of Fiserv by 1.8% during the third quarter. Graypoint LLC now owns 27,077 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $4,864,000 after acquiring an additional 478 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.98% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Fiserv

In other Fiserv news, COO Guy Chiarello sold 45,000 shares of the company’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 transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 227,711 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $53,637,326.05. This represents a 16.50 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.75% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Fiserv Stock Performance

Fiserv stock opened at $219.75 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $218.11 and its 200 day moving average price is $202.53. The firm has a market capitalization of $123.34 billion, a PE ratio of 40.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 0.93. 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.

Fiserv (NYSE:FI) last announced its earnings results 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, sell-side analysts expect 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 plan on Thursday, February 20th that permits the company to repurchase 60,000,000 shares. This repurchase authorization permits the business services provider to purchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have issued reports on FI shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on Fiserv from $238.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. StockNews.com lowered Fiserv from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on Fiserv from $258.00 to $267.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Oppenheimer raised their price target on Fiserv from $214.00 to $239.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, Citigroup raised their price target on Fiserv from $230.00 to $233.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-one have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $239.83.

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.