Marathon Asset Management Ltd Decreases Holdings in Fiserv, Inc. (NYSE:FI)

Marathon Asset Management Ltd reduced its stake in Fiserv, Inc. (NYSE:FI) by 4.0% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 464,514 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 19,339 shares during the period. Fiserv makes up 2.7% of Marathon Asset Management Ltd’s holdings, making the stock its 8th biggest holding. Marathon Asset Management Ltd’s holdings in Fiserv were worth $95,423,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. FMR LLC boosted its position in shares of Fiserv by 17.8% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 9,442,476 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,696,341,000 after purchasing an additional 1,427,664 shares during the last quarter. Sanders Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Fiserv during the 3rd quarter worth $764,543,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its stake in shares of Fiserv by 4.7% in the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 3,711,072 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $762,328,000 after purchasing an additional 164,949 shares during the period. Barclays PLC raised its stake in shares of Fiserv by 3.0% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 1,685,157 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $302,737,000 after purchasing an additional 48,413 shares during the period. Finally, Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Fiserv by 0.3% in the 3rd quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 1,317,778 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $236,739,000 after purchasing an additional 4,218 shares during the period. 90.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Fiserv Stock Up 1.8 %

NYSE FI opened at $235.67 on Monday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $216.68 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $201.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 1.06 and a quick ratio of 1.07. Fiserv, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $145.98 and a fifty-two week high of $237.99. The stock has a market capitalization of $132.28 billion, a PE ratio of 43.72, a PEG ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 0.94.

Fiserv (NYSE:FI) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The business services provider reported $2.51 EPS for the quarter, beating 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%. Equities 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 authorized a share buyback program on Thursday, February 20th that allows the company to buyback 60,000,000 shares. This buyback authorization allows the business services provider to purchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity at Fiserv

In related 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 value of $10,599,750.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 227,711 shares in the company, valued at $53,637,326.05. This represents a 16.50 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.75% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on Fiserv from $238.00 to $260.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. StockNews.com cut Fiserv from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on Fiserv from $255.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Citigroup lifted their price target on Fiserv from $230.00 to $233.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, Oppenheimer lifted their price target on Fiserv from $214.00 to $239.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-one have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $239.83.

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.