Handelsbanken Fonder AB Purchases 18,779 Shares of Fiserv, Inc. (NYSE:FI)

Handelsbanken Fonder AB raised its stake in Fiserv, Inc. (NYSE:FI - Free Report) by 8.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 231,012 shares of the business services provider's stock after buying an additional 18,779 shares during the quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB's holdings in Fiserv were worth $47,454,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of FI. Valley National Advisers Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Fiserv during the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. Compass Financial Services Inc acquired a new stake in shares of Fiserv during the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. Kennebec Savings Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Fiserv during the third quarter worth about $40,000. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Fiserv during the third quarter worth about $44,000. Finally, Friedenthal Financial acquired a new stake in shares of Fiserv during the fourth quarter worth about $49,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.98% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, COO Guy Chiarello sold 45,000 shares of the business'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 completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 227,711 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $53,637,326.05. The trade was a 16.50 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.75% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on FI shares. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Fiserv from $240.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Oppenheimer lifted their target price on Fiserv from $214.00 to $239.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Tigress Financial lifted their target price on Fiserv from $190.00 to $244.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 29th. Seaport Res Ptn raised Fiserv from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on Fiserv from $233.00 to $260.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-two have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $239.83.

Fiserv Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE FI traded down $1.96 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $232.47. 4,404,077 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,787,555. The company has a quick ratio of 1.07, a current ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86. Fiserv, Inc. has a 12 month low of $145.98 and a 12 month high of $237.99. The company's 50 day moving average price is $213.26 and its 200 day moving average price is $197.74. The firm has a market capitalization of $132.26 billion, a PE ratio of 43.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.53 and a beta of 0.94.

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

Fiserv announced that its board has approved a share repurchase plan on Thursday, February 20th that authorizes the company to repurchase 60,000,000 outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the business services provider to buy shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are often a sign that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

Fiserv 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.