New York State Common Retirement Fund Trims Stake in Fiserv, Inc. (NYSE:FI)

New York State Common Retirement Fund cut its stake in Fiserv, Inc. (NYSE:FI - Free Report) by 7.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 939,563 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 77,339 shares during the quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund owned about 0.17% of Fiserv worth $193,005,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Valley National Advisers Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Fiserv in the fourth quarter valued at $29,000. Compass Financial Services Inc purchased a new position in Fiserv during the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. Kennebec Savings Bank purchased a new position in Fiserv during the third quarter worth about $40,000. Roxbury Financial LLC purchased a new position in Fiserv during the fourth quarter worth about $50,000. Finally, Friedenthal Financial purchased a new position in Fiserv during the fourth quarter worth about $49,000. 90.98% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Fiserv

In other Fiserv news, COO Guy Chiarello sold 45,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 $53,637,326.05. This represents a 16.50 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.75% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Fiserv Trading Down 0.8 %

FI traded down $1.96 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $232.47. 4,404,077 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,787,555. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $213.26 and a two-hundred day moving average of $197.74. The stock has a market capitalization of $132.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 43.13, a P/E/G ratio of 1.53 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 1.06 and a quick ratio of 1.07. Fiserv, Inc. has a 52 week low of $145.98 and a 52 week high of $237.99.

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

Fiserv declared that its board has authorized a share repurchase program on Thursday, February 20th that permits the company to buyback 60,000,000 outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the business services provider to buy shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often a sign that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently commented on FI shares. Barclays boosted their target price on Fiserv from $235.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded Fiserv from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Susquehanna boosted their target price on Fiserv from $230.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a "positive" rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. KeyCorp lifted their price target on Fiserv from $250.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Tigress Financial lifted their price target on Fiserv from $190.00 to $244.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 29th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-two have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $239.83.

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.