National Pension Service Invests $134.63 Million in Fiserv, Inc. (NYSE:FI)

National Pension Service bought a new stake in Fiserv, Inc. (NYSE:FI) in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor bought 1,013,451 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $134,627,000.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Hollencrest Capital Management grew its position in Fiserv by 75.8% in the 3rd quarter. Hollencrest Capital Management now owns 232 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the period. West Oak Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Fiserv during the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. Halpern Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Fiserv in the 4th quarter worth about $27,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC bought a new position in Fiserv in the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Finally, Glass Jacobson Investment Advisors llc acquired a new position in Fiserv during the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. 90.98% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on FI. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Fiserv from $133.00 to $142.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 7th. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Fiserv from $165.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, April 1st. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on Fiserv from $150.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, March 25th. BNP Paribas raised Fiserv from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 10th. Finally, Citigroup increased their target price on shares of Fiserv from $171.00 to $180.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 24th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $164.33.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, COO Guy Chiarello sold 23,929 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, April 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $151.79, for a total value of $3,632,182.91. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 163,699 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $24,847,871.21. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders sold a total of 111,575 shares of company stock valued at $17,022,387 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.75% of the company’s stock.

Fiserv Price Performance

NYSE:FI traded up $0.25 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $153.29. 2,213,611 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,557,049. Fiserv, Inc. has a 52 week low of $109.11 and a 52 week high of $159.99. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $152.78 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $139.96. The company has a quick ratio of 1.06, a current ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81. The firm has a market cap of $89.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.65, a P/E/G ratio of 1.20 and a beta of 0.92.

Fiserv (NYSE:FI) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 23rd. The business services provider reported $1.88 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.77 by $0.11. The firm had revenue of $4.88 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.57 billion. Fiserv had a return on equity of 15.73% and a net margin of 16.68%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.58 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Fiserv, Inc. will post 8.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.