Meritage Portfolio Management Makes New $995,000 Investment in Fiserv, Inc. (NYSE:FI)

Meritage Portfolio Management bought a new position in shares of Fiserv, Inc. (NYSE:FI) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 7,493 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $995,000.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Fiserv by 1.6% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 50,506,740 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $5,705,241,000 after buying an additional 789,232 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp increased its stake in Fiserv by 2.7% in the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 6,416,853 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $724,848,000 after purchasing an additional 168,286 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. increased its stake in Fiserv by 5.2% in the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 5,207,615 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $588,252,000 after purchasing an additional 258,036 shares in the last quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System increased its stake in Fiserv by 1.8% in the 3rd quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 3,340,624 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $377,357,000 after purchasing an additional 60,176 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Pittenger & Anderson Inc. purchased a new position in Fiserv in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $400,079,000. 90.98% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Fiserv Stock Up 1.9 %

Shares of NYSE FI traded up $2.88 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $156.17. 1,808,282 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,548,095. Fiserv, Inc. has a 52-week low of $109.11 and a 52-week high of $159.99. The stock has a market capitalization of $91.95 billion, a PE ratio of 28.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 0.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a current ratio of 1.06. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $152.39 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $137.45.

Fiserv (NYSE:FI) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 23rd. The business services provider reported $1.88 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.77 by $0.11. The firm had revenue of $4.88 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.57 billion. Fiserv had a return on equity of 15.73% and a net margin of 16.68%. Fiserv’s quarterly revenue was up 7.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.58 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that Fiserv, Inc. will post 8.67 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

FI has been the subject of several recent research reports. Evercore ISI reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $185.00 price target on shares of Fiserv in a research report on Tuesday, March 26th. KeyCorp raised their price target on Fiserv from $160.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday. BNP Paribas raised Fiserv from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 10th. Stephens restated an “equal weight” rating and set a $165.00 price objective on shares of Fiserv in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on Fiserv from $150.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, March 25th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Fiserv presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $164.33.

Insider Activity at Fiserv

In other Fiserv news, COO Guy Chiarello sold 23,929 shares of Fiserv stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $151.79, for a total value of $3,632,182.91. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 163,699 shares in the company, valued at $24,847,871.21. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders sold a total of 111,575 shares of company stock valued at $17,022,387 over the last three months. 0.75% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Fiserv Company 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.