LS Investment Advisors LLC Has $25.65 Million Stock Position in Fiserv, Inc. (NYSE:FI)

LS Investment Advisors LLC lessened its stake in Fiserv, Inc. (NYSE:FI - Free Report) by 1.3% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 116,143 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 1,561 shares during the quarter. Fiserv makes up about 3.9% of LS Investment Advisors LLC's holdings, making the stock its 3rd largest position. LS Investment Advisors LLC's holdings in Fiserv were worth $25,648,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Fiserv by 1.9% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 11,891,207 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $2,435,280,000 after acquiring an additional 218,833 shares during the period. FMR LLC lifted its holdings in Fiserv by 22.5% during the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 11,568,895 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $2,376,482,000 after acquiring an additional 2,126,419 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its holdings in Fiserv by 16.2% during the fourth quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 8,030,889 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,649,705,000 after acquiring an additional 1,121,597 shares during the period. Nuveen Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in Fiserv by 5.2% during the fourth quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC now owns 6,936,554 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,424,907,000 after acquiring an additional 340,938 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Fiserv in the fourth quarter worth $1,406,452,000. 90.98% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have issued reports on the company. Redburn Atlantic reissued a "sell" rating and issued a $150.00 target price on shares of Fiserv in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Barclays decreased their target price on Fiserv from $265.00 to $230.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Morgan Stanley reissued an "overweight" rating and issued a $268.00 target price (up from $267.00) on shares of Fiserv in a research report on Friday, April 25th. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their target price on Fiserv from $223.00 to $194.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, May 19th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their target price on Fiserv from $240.00 to $200.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating, twenty-three have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $220.27.

Fiserv Price Performance

Fiserv stock traded up $1.52 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $166.90. 4,271,508 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,243,016. Fiserv, Inc. has a 52-week low of $146.25 and a 52-week high of $238.59. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $185.54 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $205.35. 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 company has a market cap of $92.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.96, a PEG ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 0.91.

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

Fiserv declared that its board has approved a share repurchase plan on Thursday, February 20th that allows the company to buyback 60,000,000 shares. This buyback authorization allows the business services provider to reacquire shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are generally a sign that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Adam L. Rosman sold 2,512 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $160.68, for a total value of $403,628.16. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 53,385 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $8,577,901.80. The trade was a 4.49% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Andrew Gelb sold 5,652 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $160.00, for a total value of $904,320.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 25,385 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,061,600. This trade represents a 18.21% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.75% of the company's stock.

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.