Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC Has $576.53 Million Stock Position in Fiserv, Inc. (NYSE:FI)

Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Fiserv, Inc. (NYSE:FI - Free Report) by 343.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,806,579 shares of the business services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 2,174,025 shares during the quarter. Fiserv comprises approximately 1.9% of Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC's holdings, making the stock its 15th largest position. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC owned about 0.49% of Fiserv worth $576,527,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of FI. Barclays PLC lifted its position in shares of Fiserv by 3.0% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 1,685,157 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $302,737,000 after acquiring an additional 48,413 shares during the period. Invst LLC bought a new stake in shares of Fiserv in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $211,000. SkyView Investment Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Fiserv by 4.4% in the 3rd quarter. SkyView Investment Advisors LLC now owns 5,275 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $948,000 after acquiring an additional 223 shares during the period. Anchor Investment Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Fiserv by 1.4% during the 3rd quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC now owns 35,463 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $6,371,000 after buying an additional 497 shares during the period. Finally, World Investment Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Fiserv by 1,469.7% in the 3rd quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC now owns 55,802 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $10,025,000 after buying an additional 52,247 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 90.98% of the company's stock.

Fiserv Trading Up 0.2 %

Fiserv stock traded up $0.36 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $177.89. 4,924,611 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,796,209. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a current ratio of 1.06. Fiserv, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $146.25 and a fifty-two week high of $238.59. The firm has a market capitalization of $99.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.00, a PEG ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 0.91. The firm's 50 day moving average is $216.08 and its 200-day moving average is $212.12.

Fiserv (NYSE:FI - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The business services provider reported $2.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.08 by $0.06. Fiserv had a net margin of 15.31% and a return on equity of 17.93%. The company had revenue of $4.79 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.86 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.88 EPS. The company's revenue was up 5.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts predict that Fiserv, Inc. will post 10.23 earnings per share for the current year.

Fiserv announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase plan on Thursday, February 20th that permits the company to repurchase 60,000,000 outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the business services provider to purchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the company. UBS Group cut their price objective on Fiserv from $265.00 to $255.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Friday. Stephens upped their target price on shares of Fiserv from $255.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Monness Crespi & Hardt lowered shares of Fiserv from a "neutral" rating to a "sell" rating and set a $145.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their target price on shares of Fiserv from $260.00 to $240.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Friday. Finally, StockNews.com began coverage on shares of Fiserv in a report on Sunday, March 23rd. They issued a "buy" rating on the stock. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating, twenty-two have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Fiserv currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $231.88.

Insider Activity at Fiserv

In related news, COO Guy Chiarello sold 45,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 227,711 shares in the company, valued at $53,637,326.05. This trade represents a 16.50 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.75% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.