Investors Purchase High Volume of Fiserv Call Options (NYSE:FI)

Fiserv, Inc. (NYSE:FI) saw unusually large options trading activity on Monday. Investors acquired 9,039 call options on the stock. This represents an increase of approximately 57% compared to the average volume of 5,772 call options.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, COO Guy Chiarello sold 45,000 shares of Fiserv stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 227,711 shares in the company, valued at approximately $53,637,326.05. This trade represents a 16.50% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.74% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Fiserv

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Trust Co. of Vermont boosted its position in Fiserv by 170.4% during the 4th quarter. Trust Co. of Vermont now owns 6,839 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,405,000 after acquiring an additional 4,310 shares in the last quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Fiserv during the 4th quarter worth $257,000. Merit Financial Group LLC boosted its position in Fiserv by 146.9% during the fourth quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 19,803 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $4,068,000 after purchasing an additional 11,783 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in Fiserv by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 929,193 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $190,875,000 after purchasing an additional 7,183 shares during the last quarter. Finally, USAdvisors Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Fiserv in the fourth quarter worth about $322,000. 90.98% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently issued reports on FI. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price objective on Fiserv from $223.00 to $194.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday. Barclays decreased their price target on Fiserv from $265.00 to $230.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 28th. Citigroup dropped their price objective on shares of Fiserv from $267.00 to $240.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Susquehanna reduced their target price on shares of Fiserv from $250.00 to $240.00 and set a “positive” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised 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. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating, twenty-two have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $225.80.

Fiserv Price Performance

Shares of FI stock opened at $169.27 on Tuesday. Fiserv has a twelve month low of $146.25 and a twelve 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 stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $201.41 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $210.18. The stock has a market capitalization of $93.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.40, a P/E/G ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 0.97.

Fiserv (NYSE:FI) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 24th. The business services provider reported $2.14 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.08 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $4.79 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.86 billion. Fiserv had a net margin of 15.31% and a return on equity of 17.93%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.88 earnings per share. On average, analysts predict that Fiserv will post 10.23 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Fiserv declared that its board has initiated a share buyback plan on Thursday, February 20th that allows the company to buyback 60,000,000 outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the business services provider to purchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are typically an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

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.