Ameritas Advisory Services LLC Increases Stake in Fiserv, Inc. (NYSE:FI)

Ameritas Advisory Services LLC grew its position in shares of Fiserv, Inc. (NYSE:FI - Free Report) by 42.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 15,372 shares of the business services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 4,562 shares during the quarter. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC's holdings in Fiserv were worth $3,158,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Clean Yield Group boosted its position in shares of Fiserv by 431.3% during the 3rd quarter. Clean Yield Group now owns 170 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 138 shares during the last quarter. Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC lifted its position in Fiserv by 42.5% in the third quarter. Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC now owns 191 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 57 shares during the last quarter. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. lifted its position in Fiserv by 95.5% in the second quarter. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 260 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $39,000 after buying an additional 127 shares during the last quarter. Kennebec Savings Bank bought a new stake in Fiserv in the third quarter worth $40,000. Finally, Northwest Investment Counselors LLC bought a new stake in Fiserv in the third quarter worth $44,000. 90.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Fiserv Stock Up 1.2 %

FI stock traded up $2.41 during trading on Monday, reaching $208.67. 2,579,770 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,085,694. Fiserv, Inc. has a 12 month low of $136.93 and a 12 month high of $223.23. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $209.45 and a 200 day simple moving average of $187.30. The company has a market capitalization of $118.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a current ratio of 1.07.

Fiserv (NYSE:FI - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 22nd. The business services provider reported $2.30 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.26 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $5.22 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.90 billion. Fiserv had a return on equity of 17.10% and a net margin of 15.22%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 7.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.96 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Fiserv, Inc. will post 8.77 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CAO Kenneth Best sold 20,821 shares of Fiserv stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $214.61, for a total transaction of $4,468,394.81. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 38,771 shares of the company's stock, valued at $8,320,644.31. The trade was a 34.94 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Doyle Simons sold 40,000 shares of Fiserv stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $201.97, for a total value of $8,078,800.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 76,180 shares of the company's stock, valued at $15,386,074.60. This trade represents a 34.43 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 90,821 shares of company stock valued at $18,581,095. 0.75% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

FI has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Oppenheimer raised their price target on Fiserv from $214.00 to $239.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Mizuho raised their price target on Fiserv from $183.00 to $222.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. UBS Group increased their target price on Fiserv from $185.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on Fiserv from $225.00 to $238.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Finally, Barclays increased their target price on Fiserv from $185.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-two have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $224.00.

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.