Barclays PLC Cuts Position in Fiserv, Inc. (NYSE:FI)

Barclays PLC lowered its stake in shares of Fiserv, Inc. (NYSE:FI - Free Report) by 29.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,196,015 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 489,142 shares during the period. Barclays PLC owned approximately 0.21% of Fiserv worth $245,686,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Fiserv in the fourth quarter valued at about $1,406,452,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of Fiserv during the 4th quarter worth $614,982,000. Alliancebernstein L.P. increased its holdings in Fiserv by 65.6% in the 4th quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 5,437,246 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,116,919,000 after acquiring an additional 2,153,554 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC raised its stake in Fiserv by 22.5% in the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 11,568,895 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $2,376,482,000 after acquiring an additional 2,126,419 shares during the period. Finally, Winslow Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Fiserv during the fourth quarter valued at about $363,031,000. 90.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Fiserv

In related news, COO Guy Chiarello sold 45,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $235.55, for a total value of $10,599,750.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 227,711 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $53,637,326.05. This represents a 16.50 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 0.75% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently commented on the stock. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded shares of Fiserv from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. KeyCorp boosted their price objective on Fiserv from $250.00 to $270.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Susquehanna cut their target price on Fiserv from $270.00 to $250.00 and set a "positive" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday. Citigroup increased their price target on shares of Fiserv from $230.00 to $233.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on shares of Fiserv from $255.00 to $270.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given 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 currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $234.79.

Fiserv Stock Down 0.8 %

Fiserv stock traded down $1.60 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $208.51. The stock had a trading volume of 3,571,247 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,717,959. The company has a market capitalization of $116.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.68, a PEG ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 0.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 1.06 and a quick ratio of 1.07. Fiserv, Inc. has a one year low of $145.98 and a one year high of $238.59. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $219.31 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $211.30.

Fiserv (NYSE:FI - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly 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 net margin of 15.31% and a return on equity of 17.93%. On average, analysts expect that Fiserv, Inc. will post 10.23 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Fiserv announced that its board has approved a share buyback plan on Thursday, February 20th that allows the company to buyback 60,000,000 outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the business services provider to purchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically an indication that the company's leadership believes its shares are 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.