Fiserv, Inc. (NYSE:FI) Shares Sold by Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C.

Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. lowered its holdings in Fiserv, Inc. (NYSE:FI - Free Report) by 31.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 508,931 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 238,800 shares during the period. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. owned approximately 0.09% of Fiserv worth $104,545,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in FI. Barclays PLC raised its stake in shares of Fiserv by 3.0% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 1,685,157 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $302,737,000 after acquiring an additional 48,413 shares in the last quarter. Invst LLC purchased a new stake in Fiserv during the 3rd quarter worth about $211,000. SkyView Investment Advisors LLC raised its position in Fiserv by 4.4% in the 3rd quarter. SkyView Investment Advisors LLC now owns 5,275 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $948,000 after purchasing an additional 223 shares in the last quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Fiserv by 1.4% in the 3rd quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC now owns 35,463 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $6,371,000 after buying an additional 497 shares during the period. Finally, World Investment Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Fiserv by 1,469.7% during the third quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC now owns 55,802 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $10,025,000 after buying an additional 52,247 shares during the period. 90.98% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. KeyCorp lifted their price target on shares of Fiserv from $250.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on shares of Fiserv from $255.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on Fiserv from $238.00 to $260.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised Fiserv from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $246.00 to $260.00 in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Finally, Seaport Res Ptn raised Fiserv from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Two 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. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $234.79.

Fiserv Stock Performance

NYSE:FI opened at $214.49 on Wednesday. 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 firm has a market cap of $119.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 0.91. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $218.60 and its 200 day moving average price is $211.87. Fiserv, Inc. has a 1-year low of $146.25 and a 1-year high of $238.59.

Fiserv (NYSE:FI - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The business services provider reported $2.51 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.48 by $0.03. Fiserv had a net margin of 15.31% and a return on equity of 17.93%. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Fiserv, Inc. will post 10.23 EPS for the current year.

Fiserv announced that its board has initiated a share buyback plan on Thursday, February 20th that authorizes the company to buyback 60,000,000 shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the business services provider to repurchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are generally an indication that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity at Fiserv

In related news, COO Guy Chiarello sold 45,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated 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 trade represents a 16.50 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Company insiders own 0.75% 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.

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