Fiserv (NYSE:FI) Reaches New 1-Year High – Here’s What Happened

Fiserv, Inc. (NYSE:FI) shares hit a new 52-week high on Monday . The stock traded as high as $222.51 and last traded at $222.51, with a volume of 921 shares. The stock had previously closed at $221.56.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently weighed in on FI. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Fiserv from $177.00 to $220.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. StockNews.com raised Fiserv from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 26th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on shares of Fiserv from $222.00 to $232.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, November 18th. Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of Fiserv from $187.00 to $226.00 in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Finally, Barclays increased their price target on shares of Fiserv from $185.00 to $215.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-one have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Fiserv has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $214.29.

Fiserv Trading Up 0.3 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 1.07 and a quick ratio of 1.07. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $197.64 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $171.95. The stock has a market capitalization of $126.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.78, a PEG ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 0.92.

Fiserv (NYSE:FI) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The business services provider reported $2.30 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.26 by $0.04. Fiserv had a net margin of 15.22% and a return on equity of 17.10%. The firm had revenue of $5.22 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.90 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.96 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 7.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts anticipate that Fiserv, Inc. will post 8.77 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Fiserv news, CAO Kenneth Best sold 20,821 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $214.61, for a total value of $4,468,394.81. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 38,771 shares in the company, valued at $8,320,644.31. The trade was a 34.94 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Frank Bisignano sold 145,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $177.37, for a total value of $25,718,650.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 2,965,084 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $525,916,949.08. This represents a 4.66 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 235,821 shares of company stock valued at $44,299,745. Corporate insiders own 0.75% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Fiserv

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Wellington Shields & Co. LLC acquired a new stake in Fiserv in the first quarter valued at $25,000. Clean Yield Group increased its position in shares of Fiserv by 431.3% in the 3rd quarter. Clean Yield Group now owns 170 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 138 shares during the last quarter. Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Fiserv by 42.5% in the 3rd quarter. Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC now owns 191 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 57 shares in the last quarter. Family Firm Inc. bought a new position in shares of Fiserv during the second quarter worth about $31,000. Finally, Kennebec Savings Bank acquired a new position in Fiserv in the third quarter worth about $40,000. 90.98% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.