Swiss National Bank Reduces Stock Holdings in Fiserv, Inc. (NYSE:FI)

Swiss National Bank lowered its holdings in shares of Fiserv, Inc. (NYSE:FI) by 6.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,626,386 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 110,300 shares during the quarter. Swiss National Bank’s holdings in Fiserv were worth $334,092,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. FMR LLC grew its position in Fiserv by 17.8% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 9,442,476 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,696,341,000 after buying an additional 1,427,664 shares during the period. Sanders Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Fiserv during the 3rd quarter worth $764,543,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its position in shares of Fiserv by 4.7% during the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 3,711,072 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $762,328,000 after acquiring an additional 164,949 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Fiserv by 2.6% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,620,785 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $743,782,000 after purchasing an additional 90,475 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in Fiserv in the 4th quarter worth $614,982,000. Institutional investors own 90.98% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have issued reports on FI shares. KeyCorp boosted their price target on Fiserv from $250.00 to $270.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded Fiserv from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Fiserv from $240.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on shares of Fiserv from $238.00 to $260.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Stephens raised their price objective on shares of Fiserv from $255.00 to $270.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-one have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Fiserv has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $239.83.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Fiserv news, COO Guy Chiarello sold 45,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $235.55, for a total value of $10,599,750.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 227,711 shares in the company, valued at $53,637,326.05. This trade represents a 16.50 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.75% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Fiserv Price Performance

Fiserv stock opened at $211.10 on Thursday. Fiserv, Inc. has a 12-month low of $145.98 and a 12-month high of $238.59. 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 50-day moving average price of $218.77 and a 200-day moving average price of $204.05. The firm has a market capitalization of $118.49 billion, a PE ratio of 39.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 0.93.

Fiserv (NYSE:FI) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The business services provider reported $2.51 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.48 by $0.03. Fiserv had a net margin of 15.31% and a return on equity of 17.93%. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Fiserv, Inc. will post 10.23 EPS for the current year.

Fiserv declared that its board has approved a share buyback program on Thursday, February 20th that authorizes the company to repurchase 60,000,000 outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the business services provider to purchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are usually an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

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.