Lord Abbett & CO. LLC Purchases 59,302 Shares of Fiserv, Inc. $FI

Key Points

• Lord Abbett & CO. LLC raised its position in Fiserv, Inc. by 19.7%, owning 360,288 shares worth approximately $79.56 million at the end of the first quarter.
• Analysts have varying price targets for Fiserv, with a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $207.08.
• Fiserv reported earnings of $2.47 per share for the latest quarter, slightly exceeding expectations and reflecting an 8% year-over-year revenue growth.

Lord Abbett & CO. LLC grew its position in Fiserv, Inc. (NYSE:FI - Free Report) by 19.7% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 360,288 shares of the business services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 59,302 shares during the quarter. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC owned approximately 0.06% of Fiserv worth $79,562,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in Fiserv by 1.1% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 50,079,534 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $11,059,063,000 after acquiring an additional 535,407 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its stake in Fiserv by 77.2% during the first quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 15,354,767 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $3,390,793,000 after acquiring an additional 6,691,703 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its stake in Fiserv by 3.2% during the first quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 8,284,433 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,829,451,000 after acquiring an additional 253,544 shares in the last quarter. Nuveen LLC bought a new position in Fiserv during the first quarter worth $1,722,584,000. Finally, Nuveen Asset Management LLC boosted its stake 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 in the last quarter. 90.98% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Fiserv Stock Performance

FI traded up $0.36 during trading on Monday, hitting $137.06. 3,785,364 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,463,042. The company has a quick ratio of 1.09, a current ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09. The firm has a market cap of $74.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.89 and a beta of 0.91. Fiserv, Inc. has a one year low of $128.22 and a one year high of $238.59. The stock's fifty day moving average is $156.98 and its 200 day moving average is $187.22.

Fiserv (NYSE:FI - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The business services provider reported $2.47 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.43 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $5.20 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.20 billion. Fiserv had a net margin of 16.00% and a return on equity of 19.69%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 8.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $2.13 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that Fiserv, Inc. will post 10.23 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Fiserv

In other news, EVP Andrew Gelb sold 5,652 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 25,385 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,061,600. This trade represents a 18.21% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Adam L. Rosman sold 2,512 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $160.68, for a total transaction of $403,628.16. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 53,385 shares of the company's stock, valued at $8,577,901.80. This trade represents a 4.49% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.75% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft assumed coverage on shares of Fiserv in a report on Thursday, July 17th. They set a "buy" rating and a $200.00 price objective on the stock. Robert W. Baird lowered their price objective on shares of Fiserv from $225.00 to $185.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on shares of Fiserv from $210.00 to $190.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 24th. Monness Crespi & Hardt upgraded shares of Fiserv from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, July 21st. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price objective on shares of Fiserv from $223.00 to $194.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, May 19th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating, twenty-three have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $207.08.

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.