FUKOKU MUTUAL LIFE INSURANCE Co Buys New Position in Fiserv, Inc. (NYSE:FI)

FUKOKU MUTUAL LIFE INSURANCE Co purchased a new position in Fiserv, Inc. (NYSE:FI) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 2,458 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $505,000.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Soros Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Fiserv by 71.7% during the third quarter. Soros Capital Management LLC now owns 54,797 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $9,844,000 after purchasing an additional 22,884 shares in the last quarter. Czech National Bank grew its holdings in Fiserv by 5.2% during the 4th quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 123,353 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $25,339,000 after acquiring an additional 6,072 shares in the last quarter. Chiron Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Fiserv during the 3rd quarter worth about $4,709,000. Trust Co. of Vermont grew its holdings in Fiserv by 170.4% during the 4th quarter. Trust Co. of Vermont now owns 6,839 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,405,000 after acquiring an additional 4,310 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cardano Risk Management B.V. bought a new position in Fiserv during the 4th quarter worth about $97,254,000. 90.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Fiserv news, COO Guy Chiarello sold 45,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $235.55, for a total value of $10,599,750.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 227,711 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $53,637,326.05. This represents a 16.50 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.75% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

FI has been the topic of several research analyst reports. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Fiserv from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on shares of Fiserv from $255.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Oppenheimer upped their price objective on shares of Fiserv from $214.00 to $239.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, December 19th. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on shares of Fiserv from $233.00 to $260.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on shares of Fiserv from $208.00 to $231.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-one have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $239.83.

Fiserv Stock Performance

NYSE:FI opened at $229.58 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.07, a current ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86. The stock has a market cap of $128.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 42.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 0.94. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $215.50 and its 200 day simple moving average is $200.07. Fiserv, Inc. has a twelve month low of $145.98 and a twelve month high of $237.99.

Fiserv (NYSE:FI) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The business services provider reported $2.51 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.48 by $0.03. Fiserv had a return on equity of 17.93% and a net margin of 15.31%. As a group, research analysts predict that Fiserv, Inc. will post 10.23 EPS for the current year.

Fiserv announced that its board has approved a share buyback program on Thursday, February 20th that permits the company to buyback 60,000,000 shares. This buyback authorization permits the business services provider to buy shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually 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.