Fiserv, Inc. (NYSE:FI) Receives Average Recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from Brokerages

Fiserv, Inc. (NYSE:FI - Get Free Report) has been given a consensus recommendation of "Moderate Buy" by the twenty-six ratings firms that are covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating, twenty-one have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12-month price objective among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $221.84.

A number of research firms recently issued reports on FI. Susquehanna decreased their target price on shares of Fiserv from $250.00 to $240.00 and set a "positive" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Redburn Atlantic reissued a "sell" rating and set a $150.00 target price on shares of Fiserv in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Tigress Financial boosted their target price on shares of Fiserv from $244.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday. Barclays cut their target price on shares of Fiserv from $265.00 to $230.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 28th. Finally, Mizuho set a $200.00 price objective on shares of Fiserv in a research note on Thursday, May 15th.

Insider Buying and Selling at Fiserv

In related news, insider Adam L. Rosman sold 2,512 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $160.68, for a total value of $403,628.16. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 53,385 shares of the company's stock, valued at $8,577,901.80. This trade represents a 4.49% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.74% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of FI. Nuveen LLC purchased a new position in shares of Fiserv in the 1st quarter valued at $1,722,584,000. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Fiserv in the 4th quarter worth $1,406,452,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its stake in shares of Fiserv by 77.2% in the 1st 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 during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in shares of Fiserv by 21,681.0% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,821,905 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $843,991,000 after acquiring an additional 3,804,358 shares during the period. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Fiserv in the 4th quarter worth $614,982,000. 90.98% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Fiserv Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:FI traded down $1.22 on Friday, hitting $159.52. 638,408 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,103,458. Fiserv has a 1-year low of $146.25 and a 1-year high of $238.59. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $193.59 and its 200 day moving average price is $207.93. The company has a current ratio of 1.06, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86. The firm has a market capitalization of $88.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 0.97.

Fiserv (NYSE:FI - Get Free Report) last posted 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. The company had revenue of $4.79 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.86 billion. Fiserv had a net margin of 15.31% and a return on equity of 17.93%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 5.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.88 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Fiserv will post 10.23 EPS for the current year.

Fiserv announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback 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 repurchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

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.