Ariel Investments LLC Purchases 140 Shares of Fiserv, Inc. (NYSE:FI)

Ariel Investments LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Fiserv, Inc. (NYSE:FI) by 3.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 4,681 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 140 shares during the quarter. Ariel Investments LLC’s holdings in Fiserv were worth $962,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in FI. Visualize Group LP acquired a new position in shares of Fiserv during the 4th quarter valued at about $15,612,000. Meiji Yasuda Life Insurance Co bought a new stake in Fiserv during the fourth quarter worth approximately $562,000. Cypress Advisory Group LLC acquired a new position in Fiserv during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $2,215,000. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV raised its position in shares of Fiserv by 13.5% in the fourth quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 183,795 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $37,755,000 after purchasing an additional 21,861 shares during the period. Finally, Sulzberger Capital Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Fiserv in the fourth quarter worth $247,000. 90.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Fiserv Price Performance

Shares of FI stock opened at $184.38 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 stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $211.04 and its 200 day simple moving average is $211.52. Fiserv, Inc. has a one year low of $146.25 and a one year high of $238.59. The firm has a market cap of $102.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.21, a P/E/G ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 0.91.

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

Fiserv announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase program on Thursday, February 20th that authorizes the company to buyback 60,000,000 outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the business services provider to reacquire shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently commented on the stock. KeyCorp lifted their target price on shares of Fiserv from $250.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price objective on Fiserv from $254.00 to $232.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Monness Crespi & Hardt downgraded Fiserv from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $145.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. Redburn Atlantic reiterated a “sell” rating and set a $150.00 price target on shares of Fiserv in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Finally, Citigroup reduced their price objective on Fiserv from $267.00 to $240.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating, twenty-two have assigned a buy rating and two have given 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 $230.00.

Insider Transactions at Fiserv

In other 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 transaction of $10,599,750.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 227,711 shares in the company, valued at approximately $53,637,326.05. This represents a 16.50 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 0.75% of the company’s stock.

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.