Wedbush Securities Inc. Buys 149 Shares of Fiserv, Inc. (NYSE:FI)

Wedbush Securities Inc. grew its stake in shares of Fiserv, Inc. (NYSE:FI) by 1.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 10,099 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 149 shares during the period. Wedbush Securities Inc.’s holdings in Fiserv were worth $2,075,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of FI. Aviva PLC raised its position in Fiserv by 7.9% during the 4th quarter. Aviva PLC now owns 346,821 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $71,244,000 after purchasing an additional 25,256 shares in the last quarter. KCM Investment Advisors LLC raised its holdings 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 valued at $464,000 after acquiring an additional 831 shares in the last quarter. Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in Fiserv in the fourth quarter worth about $36,296,000. Smith Moore & CO. grew its holdings in Fiserv by 2.3% during the 4th quarter. Smith Moore & CO. now owns 6,937 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,425,000 after acquiring an additional 155 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Broderick Brian C increased its position in Fiserv by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Broderick Brian C now owns 97,810 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $20,092,000 after purchasing an additional 924 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.98% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Fiserv

In other news, COO Guy Chiarello sold 45,000 shares of Fiserv stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $235.55, for a total transaction of $10,599,750.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 227,711 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $53,637,326.05. The trade was a 16.50 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.75% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Fiserv Stock Down 8.4 %

FI stock opened at $198.77 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 1.06 and a quick ratio of 1.07. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $222.85 and its 200-day simple moving average is $209.42. Fiserv, Inc. has a 12 month low of $145.98 and a 12 month high of $238.59. The company has a market capitalization of $111.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 0.91.

Fiserv (NYSE:FI) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The business services provider reported $2.51 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 forecast that Fiserv, Inc. will post 10.23 earnings per share for the current year.

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on FI shares. The Goldman Sachs Group raised shares of Fiserv from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $246.00 to $260.00 in a research report on Wednesday. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Fiserv from $240.00 to $270.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on Fiserv from $255.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on Fiserv from $233.00 to $260.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Oppenheimer boosted their target price on shares of Fiserv from $214.00 to $239.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, December 19th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-two have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Fiserv has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $243.64.

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.