Decatur Capital Management Inc. Invests $3.05 Million in Fiserv, Inc. (NYSE:FI)

Decatur Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Fiserv, Inc. (NYSE:FI - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 14,832 shares of the business services provider's stock, valued at approximately $3,047,000. Fiserv makes up approximately 1.4% of Decatur Capital Management Inc.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 20th largest holding.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in FI. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Fiserv by 1.9% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 11,891,207 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $2,435,280,000 after buying an additional 218,833 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC boosted its stake in Fiserv by 22.5% during 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 purchasing an additional 2,126,419 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its holdings in Fiserv by 16.2% during the 4th quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 8,030,889 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,649,705,000 after purchasing an additional 1,121,597 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Fiserv in the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,406,452,000. Finally, Alliancebernstein L.P. boosted its position in shares of Fiserv by 65.6% during the fourth quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 5,437,246 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,116,919,000 after buying an additional 2,153,554 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.98% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

FI has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. KeyCorp lifted their price objective on shares of Fiserv from $250.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised Fiserv from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their target price for the company from $246.00 to $260.00 in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Fiserv from $258.00 to $267.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Stephens raised their target price on Fiserv from $255.00 to $270.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Fiserv from $240.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned 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, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $234.79.

Insider Buying and Selling at Fiserv

In other Fiserv news, COO Guy Chiarello sold 45,000 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 sale, 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 sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.75% of the company's stock.

Fiserv Price Performance

NYSE FI traded down $38.29 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $178.81. 11,956,058 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,749,841. 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 stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $218.33 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $211.91. Fiserv, Inc. has a 1 year low of $146.25 and a 1 year high of $238.59. The company has a market cap of $99.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 0.91.

Fiserv (NYSE:FI - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The business services provider reported $2.14 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.07 by $0.07. Fiserv had a return on equity of 17.93% and a net margin of 15.31%. On average, analysts predict that Fiserv, Inc. will post 10.23 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Fiserv announced that its board has authorized a stock repurchase program on Thursday, February 20th that allows the company to repurchase 60,000,000 shares. This repurchase authorization allows the business services provider to reacquire shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are often an indication that the company's board believes its stock is undervalued.

About Fiserv

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.