Bridgewater Associates LP Grows Stake in Fiserv, Inc. (NYSE:FI)

Bridgewater Associates LP increased its stake in shares of Fiserv, Inc. (NYSE:FI - Free Report) by 20.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 649,901 shares of the business services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 110,139 shares during the quarter. Bridgewater Associates LP owned approximately 0.11% of Fiserv worth $133,503,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in FI. Jacobi Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Fiserv by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Jacobi Capital Management LLC now owns 11,104 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $2,281,000 after acquiring an additional 44 shares during the last quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust lifted its holdings in Fiserv by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 4,109 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $841,000 after buying an additional 45 shares during the period. Catalina Capital Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Fiserv by 2.3% during the fourth quarter. Catalina Capital Group LLC now owns 2,160 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $444,000 after buying an additional 48 shares during the period. Mount Yale Investment Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Fiserv by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Mount Yale Investment Advisors LLC now owns 4,126 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $848,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares during the period. Finally, Hemington Wealth Management boosted its holdings in Fiserv by 6.1% in the fourth quarter. Hemington Wealth Management now owns 864 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $177,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.98% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have commented on the stock. Stephens upped their price objective on shares of Fiserv from $255.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Fiserv from $235.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Fiserv from $240.00 to $270.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Monness Crespi & Hardt lowered Fiserv from a "neutral" rating to a "sell" rating and set a $145.00 target price for the company. in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. Finally, KeyCorp lifted their price target on Fiserv from $250.00 to $270.00 and gave the company an "overweight" 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 issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Fiserv presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $234.79.

Insider Buying and Selling at Fiserv

In other news, COO Guy Chiarello sold 45,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated 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 owns 227,711 shares of the company's stock, valued at $53,637,326.05. This trade represents a 16.50 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.75% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Fiserv Stock Performance

Fiserv stock traded down $1.60 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $208.51. 3,571,247 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,715,057. 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 12 month low of $145.98 and a 12 month high of $238.59. The firm has a market capitalization of $116.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 0.91. The business has a 50 day moving average of $219.74 and a two-hundred day moving average of $211.11.

Fiserv (NYSE:FI - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The business services provider reported $2.51 EPS 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, research analysts predict that Fiserv, Inc. will post 10.23 earnings per share for the current year.

Fiserv declared that its board has authorized a share buyback program on Thursday, February 20th that permits the company to repurchase 60,000,000 shares. This repurchase authorization permits the business services provider to repurchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are usually an indication 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.