Evercore Wealth Management LLC Buys Shares of 267,653 Fiserv, Inc. (NYSE:FI)

Evercore Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Fiserv, Inc. (NYSE:FI - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 267,653 shares of the business services provider's stock, valued at approximately $54,981,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Fiserv by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 11,891,207 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $2,435,280,000 after purchasing an additional 218,833 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC increased its position in shares of Fiserv by 22.5% during the fourth 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 last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its stake in shares of Fiserv by 16.2% in the 4th quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 8,030,889 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,649,705,000 after acquiring an additional 1,121,597 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Fiserv in the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,406,452,000. Finally, Alliancebernstein L.P. boosted its position in shares of Fiserv by 65.6% during 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 purchasing an additional 2,153,554 shares during the period. 90.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, COO Guy Chiarello sold 45,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction 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 owns 227,711 shares in the company, 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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.75% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have commented on the company. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Fiserv from $240.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Barclays increased their target price on Fiserv from $235.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. UBS Group dropped their target price on Fiserv from $265.00 to $255.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Friday. StockNews.com initiated coverage on shares of Fiserv in a research report on Sunday, March 23rd. They set a "buy" rating on the stock. Finally, Redburn Atlantic restated a "sell" rating and issued a $150.00 price objective on shares of Fiserv in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating, twenty-two have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Fiserv has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $233.33.

Fiserv Stock Up 0.4 %

FI traded up $0.65 on Friday, reaching $177.55. The company's stock had a trading volume of 7,893,959 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,789,296. The company has a market capitalization of $99.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.94, a P/E/G ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 0.91. Fiserv, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $146.25 and a fifty-two week high of $238.59. The company has a quick ratio of 1.07, a current ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $216.08 and a two-hundred day moving average of $211.78.

Fiserv (NYSE:FI - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The business services provider reported $2.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.08 by $0.06. Fiserv had a net margin of 15.31% and a return on equity of 17.93%. The business had revenue of $4.79 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.86 billion. As a group, analysts forecast that Fiserv, Inc. will post 10.23 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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