Louisiana State Employees Retirement System Acquires New Stake in Fiserv, Inc. (NYSE:FI)

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System acquired a new stake in Fiserv, Inc. (NYSE:FI) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 36,300 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $4,822,000.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of FI. AMI Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in Fiserv by 33.6% during the 1st quarter. AMI Investment Management Inc. now owns 27,999 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,839,000 after purchasing an additional 7,047 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its position in shares of Fiserv by 10.4% during the 1st quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 9,227 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $936,000 after acquiring an additional 870 shares in the last quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund boosted its position in shares of Fiserv by 158.2% during the 1st quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 963 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $98,000 after acquiring an additional 590 shares in the last quarter. Prudential PLC acquired a new position in shares of Fiserv during the 1st quarter worth about $1,095,000. Finally, Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Fiserv during the 1st quarter worth about $357,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.98% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Fiserv

In other Fiserv news, COO Guy Chiarello sold 24,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, March 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $149.53, for a total transaction of $3,588,720.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 163,699 shares in the company, valued at approximately $24,477,911.47. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 18.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Fiserv Price Performance

NYSE FI traded down $2.39 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $151.20. The stock had a trading volume of 2,118,392 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,247,025. Fiserv, Inc. has a 52-week low of $109.11 and a 52-week high of $159.99. The company has a market cap of $89.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.24, a P/E/G ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 0.91. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $151.38 and a 200 day simple moving average of $135.31. The company has a quick ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73.

Fiserv (NYSE:FI) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 6th. The business services provider reported $2.19 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.15 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $4.92 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.68 billion. Fiserv had a return on equity of 15.16% and a net margin of 16.07%. Fiserv’s quarterly revenue was up 6.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.91 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Fiserv, Inc. will post 8.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. StockNews.com assumed coverage on Fiserv in a research report on Saturday, February 3rd. They set a “buy” rating for the company. Robert W. Baird upped their target price on Fiserv from $168.00 to $185.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, April 1st. Susquehanna upped their target price on Fiserv from $175.00 to $180.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a research report on Monday, March 25th. Stephens upped their target price on Fiserv from $140.00 to $150.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 7th. Finally, Barclays upped their target price on Fiserv from $165.00 to $185.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, April 1st. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Fiserv presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $158.21.

About Fiserv

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.