Meiji Yasuda Life Insurance Co Invests $562,000 in Fiserv, Inc. (NYSE:FI)

Meiji Yasuda Life Insurance Co acquired a new stake in Fiserv, Inc. (NYSE:FI - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 2,735 shares of the business services provider's stock, valued at approximately $562,000.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Fiserv in the 4th quarter worth about $1,406,452,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Fiserv in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $614,982,000. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Fiserv by 343.7% during the 4th quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC now owns 2,806,579 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $576,527,000 after purchasing an additional 2,174,025 shares in the last quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. raised its position in shares of Fiserv by 65.6% during the 4th quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 5,437,246 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,116,919,000 after purchasing an additional 2,153,554 shares during the last quarter. Finally, FMR LLC lifted its stake in Fiserv by 22.5% in the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 11,568,895 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $2,376,482,000 after buying an additional 2,126,419 shares in the last quarter. 90.98% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on FI shares. BMO Capital Markets cut their price target on Fiserv from $254.00 to $232.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 25th. Monness Crespi & Hardt cut shares of Fiserv from a "neutral" rating to a "sell" rating and set a $145.00 price target on the stock. in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. Redburn Atlantic reissued a "sell" rating and set a $150.00 price objective on shares of Fiserv in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Seaport Res Ptn raised shares of Fiserv from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Fiserv from $240.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued 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 company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $230.00.

Fiserv Price Performance

Shares of NYSE FI opened at $184.38 on Friday. 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 1-year low of $146.25 and a 1-year high of $238.59. The company has a market capitalization of $102.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.21, a PEG ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 0.91. The business has a 50-day moving average of $211.04 and a 200-day moving average of $211.52.

Fiserv (NYSE:FI - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 24th. The business services provider reported $2.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.86 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.88 earnings per share. Fiserv's revenue for the quarter was up 5.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Fiserv, Inc. will post 10.23 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, COO Guy Chiarello sold 45,000 shares of the 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 directly owns 227,711 shares in the company, valued at approximately $53,637,326.05. This represents a 16.50 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.75% of the stock is currently owned by 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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.