Kitching Partners LLC Makes New Investment in Fiserv, Inc. (NYSE:FI)

Kitching Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Fiserv, Inc. (NYSE:FI) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 1,253 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $257,000. Fiserv comprises approximately 0.3% of Kitching Partners LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 25th biggest holding.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Fiserv by 508.4% during the 4th quarter. Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC now owns 156,538 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $32,156,000 after acquiring an additional 130,807 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp increased its stake in shares of Fiserv by 19.5% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 6,206,720 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,274,984,000 after acquiring an additional 1,014,126 shares during the period. Quarry LP lifted its holdings in shares of Fiserv by 51.9% in the 4th quarter. Quarry LP now owns 205 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $42,000 after buying an additional 70 shares during the period. Eight 31 Financial LLC purchased a new stake in Fiserv in the 4th quarter worth approximately $205,000. Finally, Johnson Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in Fiserv by 108.0% in the fourth quarter. Johnson Financial Group Inc. now owns 12,052 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $2,604,000 after buying an additional 6,259 shares in the last quarter. 90.98% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have commented on FI. Barclays reduced their target price on Fiserv from $265.00 to $230.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded Fiserv from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. StockNews.com initiated coverage on shares of Fiserv in a research note on Sunday, March 23rd. They set a “buy” rating on the stock. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price objective on Fiserv from $254.00 to $232.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Finally, Morgan Stanley restated an “overweight” rating and set a $268.00 target price (up previously from $267.00) on shares of Fiserv in a research note on Friday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating, twenty-two have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $230.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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 transaction of $10,599,750.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 0.75% of the company’s stock.

Fiserv Trading Up 4.1 %

NYSE:FI opened at $185.28 on Wednesday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $213.93 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $211.84. The stock has a market capitalization of $103.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.37, a PEG ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 0.91. 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 12 month low of $146.25 and a 12 month high of $238.59.

Fiserv (NYSE:FI) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The business services provider reported $2.14 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.08 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $4.79 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.86 billion. Fiserv had a net margin of 15.31% and a return on equity of 17.93%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.88 earnings per share. Analysts expect that Fiserv, Inc. will post 10.23 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Fiserv announced that its board has approved a stock repurchase 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 buy shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

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.