Sandy Spring Bank Acquires New Stake in Fiserv, Inc. (NYSE:FI)

Sandy Spring Bank bought a new position in Fiserv, Inc. (NYSE:FI) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 1,311 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $174,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in FI. First Manhattan Co. raised its position in Fiserv by 4.6% in the fourth quarter. First Manhattan Co. now owns 1,966 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $199,000 after purchasing an additional 86 shares in the last quarter. Holderness Investments Co. raised its holdings in shares of Fiserv by 4.1% in the 2nd quarter. Holderness Investments Co. now owns 2,295 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $290,000 after buying an additional 90 shares in the last quarter. Apeiron RIA LLC lifted its position in shares of Fiserv by 2.9% during the 3rd quarter. Apeiron RIA LLC now owns 3,217 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $363,000 after buying an additional 90 shares during the period. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its stake in Fiserv by 4.0% in the 3rd quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 2,385 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $269,000 after buying an additional 92 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Proficio Capital Partners LLC grew its position in Fiserv by 5.1% in the second quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,950 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $246,000 after acquiring an additional 94 shares during the period. 90.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Fiserv news, COO Guy Chiarello sold 63,646 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $154.00, for a total transaction of $9,801,484.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 163,699 shares in the company, valued at approximately $25,209,646. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 18.20% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on FI shares. StockNews.com began coverage on shares of Fiserv in a research note on Saturday, February 3rd. They issued a “buy” rating for the company. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on Fiserv from $144.00 to $158.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 7th. Evercore ISI restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $185.00 price objective on shares of Fiserv in a research report on Tuesday, March 26th. Stephens upped their target price on shares of Fiserv from $140.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 7th. Finally, Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on shares of Fiserv from $168.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, April 1st. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $158.21.

Fiserv Stock Down 1.6 %

Shares of NYSE FI opened at $151.20 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $151.38 and a 200 day moving average price of $135.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a current ratio of 1.04. The stock has a market cap of $89.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.24, a P/E/G ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 0.91. Fiserv, Inc. has a 52-week low of $109.11 and a 52-week high of $159.99.

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

Fiserv 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.