Wellington Wealth Strategies LLC. Makes New $1.57 Million Investment in Fiserv, Inc. (NYSE:FI)

Wellington Wealth Strategies LLC. bought a new position in Fiserv, Inc. (NYSE:FI) during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor bought 7,641 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,570,000. Fiserv comprises about 1.5% of Wellington Wealth Strategies LLC.’s portfolio, making the stock its 23rd largest position.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Fiserv during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,406,452,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Fiserv during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $614,982,000. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Fiserv by 343.7% during the fourth quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC now owns 2,806,579 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $576,527,000 after buying an additional 2,174,025 shares during the last quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. raised its holdings in shares of Fiserv by 65.6% during the fourth quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 5,437,246 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,116,919,000 after buying an additional 2,153,554 shares during the last quarter. Finally, FMR LLC raised its holdings in shares of Fiserv by 22.5% during the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 11,568,895 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $2,376,482,000 after buying an additional 2,126,419 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 90.98% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

FI has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $268.00 price target (up previously from $267.00) on shares of Fiserv in a report on Friday, April 25th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price objective on shares of Fiserv from $223.00 to $194.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday. Stephens raised their price objective on shares of Fiserv from $255.00 to $270.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. StockNews.com initiated coverage on shares of Fiserv in a research note on Sunday, March 23rd. They set a “buy” rating on the stock. Finally, Susquehanna lowered their price objective 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. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating, twenty-two have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $225.80.

Insider Buying and Selling at Fiserv

In other Fiserv news, COO Guy Chiarello sold 45,000 shares of Fiserv stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $235.55, for a total transaction of $10,599,750.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 227,711 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $53,637,326.05. This trade represents a 16.50% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.74% of the company’s stock.

Fiserv Trading Up 1.6%

Fiserv stock opened at $169.27 on Tuesday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $201.41 and a 200 day moving average price of $210.18. Fiserv, Inc. has a 52 week low of $146.25 and a 52 week high of $238.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a current ratio of 1.06. The firm 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 posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 24th. The business services provider reported $2.14 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.08 by $0.06. Fiserv had a net margin of 15.31% and a return on equity of 17.93%. The firm had revenue of $4.79 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.86 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.88 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 5.1% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast that Fiserv, Inc. will post 10.23 EPS for the current year.

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

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.