Fiserv, Inc. (NYSE:FI) Given Average Recommendation of "Moderate Buy" by Brokerages

Fiserv, Inc. (NYSE:FI - Get Free Report) has been given an average recommendation of "Moderate Buy" by the twenty-six research firms that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, twenty-one have assigned a buy recommendation and two have given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price objective among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $224.00.

FI has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on shares of Fiserv from $225.00 to $238.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded Fiserv from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Citigroup lifted their price objective on Fiserv from $230.00 to $233.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Tigress Financial raised their price target on shares of Fiserv from $190.00 to $244.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 29th. Finally, Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on shares of Fiserv from $186.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, September 23rd.

Fiserv Trading Up 1.2 %

Shares of FI stock traded up $2.41 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $208.67. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,579,770 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,085,694. Fiserv has a 12-month low of $136.93 and a 12-month high of $223.23. The firm has a market capitalization of $118.71 billion, a PE ratio of 40.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a quick ratio of 1.07, a current ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $209.45 and its 200-day simple moving average is $187.03.

Fiserv (NYSE:FI - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The business services provider reported $2.30 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.26 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $5.22 billion during 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 company's revenue was up 7.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.96 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that Fiserv will post 8.77 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Fiserv

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Fiserv

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Clean Yield Group boosted its stake in Fiserv by 431.3% in the 3rd quarter. Clean Yield Group now owns 170 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 138 shares during the period. Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Fiserv by 42.5% in the third quarter. Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC now owns 191 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 57 shares in the last quarter. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of 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 period. Kennebec Savings Bank purchased a new position in shares of Fiserv during the third quarter valued at $40,000. Finally, Northwest Investment Counselors LLC acquired a new position in Fiserv during the third quarter valued at $44,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.98% of the company's stock.

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.