Fiserv (NYSE:FI) Reaches New 12-Month High Following Analyst Upgrade

Fiserv, Inc. (NYSE:FI - Get Free Report) reached a new 52-week high on Tuesday after BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on the stock from $222.00 to $232.00. BMO Capital Markets currently has an outperform rating on the stock. Fiserv traded as high as $216.34 and last traded at $216.09, with a volume of 722184 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $212.74.

Other equities analysts also recently issued research reports about the stock. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on shares of Fiserv from $195.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Fiserv from $199.00 to $227.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. William Blair upgraded shares of Fiserv to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on shares of Fiserv from $188.00 to $208.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Mizuho lifted their price objective on shares of Fiserv from $183.00 to $222.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $211.52.

Insider Activity at Fiserv

In related news, Director Doyle Simons sold 40,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $201.97, for a total value of $8,078,800.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 76,180 shares of the company's stock, valued at $15,386,074.60. The trade was a 34.43 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Frank Bisignano sold 145,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $177.37, for a total transaction of $25,718,650.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2,965,084 shares in the company, valued at approximately $525,916,949.08. The trade was a 4.66 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 254,711 shares of company stock valued at $47,477,232. Insiders own 0.75% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Fiserv

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in FI. Waypoint Capital Advisors LLC increased its stake in Fiserv by 1.7% in the third quarter. Waypoint Capital Advisors LLC now owns 3,118 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $560,000 after purchasing an additional 51 shares in the last quarter. Optas LLC boosted its holdings in Fiserv by 1.7% during the third quarter. Optas LLC now owns 3,216 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $578,000 after purchasing an additional 54 shares during the last quarter. Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Fiserv by 42.5% during the third quarter. Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC now owns 191 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 57 shares during the last quarter. Covestor Ltd lifted its stake in Fiserv by 7.6% in the third quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 832 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $150,000 after acquiring an additional 59 shares during the last quarter. Finally, West Bancorporation Inc. lifted its stake in Fiserv by 3.8% in the third quarter. West Bancorporation Inc. now owns 1,648 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $296,000 after acquiring an additional 61 shares during the last quarter. 90.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Fiserv Trading Up 1.1 %

The company has a market cap of $122.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.38, a PEG ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 0.92. The business's 50 day moving average price is $193.02 and its 200-day moving average price is $169.59. The company has a current ratio of 1.07, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85.

Fiserv (NYSE:FI - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The business services provider reported $2.30 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.26 by $0.04. Fiserv had a net margin of 15.22% and a return on equity of 17.10%. The firm had revenue of $5.22 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.90 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.96 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up 7.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Fiserv, Inc. will post 8.77 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Fiserv Company 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.