Investors Buy Large Volume of Put Options on Fiserv (NYSE:FI)

Fiserv, Inc. (NYSE:FI - Get Free Report) saw unusually large options trading activity on Tuesday. Investors bought 6,491 put options on the company. This represents an increase of approximately 73% compared to the average daily volume of 3,745 put options.

Fiserv Trading Up 0.4 %

Shares of FI traded up $0.65 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $177.55. The stock had a trading volume of 7,893,959 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,787,661. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $216.08 and its 200 day simple moving average is $211.95. Fiserv has a 12-month low of $146.25 and a 12-month high of $238.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a current ratio of 1.06. The firm has a market cap of $99.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.94, a P/E/G ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 0.91.

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

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

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 stock was sold at an average price of $235.55, for a total transaction of $10,599,750.00. Following the transaction, 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.75% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vega Investment Solutions purchased a new stake in shares of Fiserv during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Park Square Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in Fiserv during the 4th quarter worth $28,000. Valley National Advisers Inc. purchased a new stake in Fiserv during the 4th quarter worth $29,000. Marshall Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Fiserv in the 4th quarter worth $29,000. Finally, Compass Financial Services Inc purchased a new position in Fiserv in the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. 90.98% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have issued reports on FI shares. Redburn Atlantic reaffirmed a "sell" rating and issued a $150.00 target price on shares of Fiserv in a report on Thursday, April 17th. UBS Group reduced their price objective on Fiserv from $265.00 to $255.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Friday. Barclays upped their target price on Fiserv from $235.00 to $265.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on shares of Fiserv from $255.00 to $270.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Susquehanna cut their target price on shares of Fiserv from $250.00 to $240.00 and set a "positive" rating for the company in a research report on Friday. Two 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 assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $233.33.

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.