Artisan Partners Limited Partnership Sells 52,730 Shares of Fiserv, Inc. (NYSE:FI)

Artisan Partners Limited Partnership lowered its position in shares of Fiserv, Inc. (NYSE:FI) by 7.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 618,548 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 52,730 shares during the quarter. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership owned approximately 0.11% of Fiserv worth $127,062,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in FI. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in Fiserv in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $614,982,000. Madison Investment Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Fiserv in the 4th quarter worth $134,710,000. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Fiserv by 788.7% during the third quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC now owns 632,554 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $109,700,000 after purchasing an additional 561,377 shares during the period. Proficio Capital Partners LLC increased its holdings in Fiserv by 30,479.9% in the fourth quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 484,997 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $99,628,000 after purchasing an additional 483,411 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cardano Risk Management B.V. acquired a new position in Fiserv in the fourth quarter valued at about $97,254,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.98% of the company’s stock.

Fiserv Trading Down 1.1 %

Fiserv stock opened at $219.32 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. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $221.85 and a 200-day moving average of $207.36. The company has a market cap of $123.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.69, a P/E/G ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 0.93. Fiserv, Inc. has a one year low of $145.98 and a one year high of $238.59.

Fiserv (NYSE:FI) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The business services provider reported $2.51 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.48 by $0.03. Fiserv had a return on equity of 17.93% and a net margin of 15.31%. On average, equities analysts expect that Fiserv, Inc. will post 10.23 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Fiserv announced that its board has initiated a share buyback plan on Thursday, February 20th that allows the company to repurchase 60,000,000 shares. This repurchase authorization allows the business services provider to repurchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity at Fiserv

In other news, COO Guy Chiarello sold 45,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 20th. The shares were 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 directly owns 227,711 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $53,637,326.05. This represents a 16.50 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.75% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently issued reports on FI. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on Fiserv from $255.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Oppenheimer boosted their price objective on shares of Fiserv from $214.00 to $239.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, December 19th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on shares of Fiserv from $208.00 to $231.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 3rd. StockNews.com started coverage on shares of Fiserv in a research report on Sunday, March 23rd. They set a “buy” rating on the stock. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on shares of Fiserv from $233.00 to $260.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Two investment 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 company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $242.32.

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.