Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC Has $3.71 Million Stock Holdings in Fiserv, Inc. (NYSE:FI)

Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC boosted its position in Fiserv, Inc. (NYSE:FI) by 9.3% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 18,069 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,530 shares during the quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC’s holdings in Fiserv were worth $3,712,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Callan Family Office LLC raised its holdings in Fiserv by 491.9% during the fourth quarter. Callan Family Office LLC now owns 28,161 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $5,785,000 after acquiring an additional 23,403 shares in the last quarter. E Fund Management Co. Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Fiserv in the fourth quarter valued at $289,000. Candriam S.C.A. grew its stake in shares of Fiserv by 23.5% in the fourth quarter. Candriam S.C.A. now owns 205,959 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $42,308,000 after buying an additional 39,227 shares in the last quarter. Chung Wu Investment Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Fiserv in the fourth quarter valued at $668,000. Finally, Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc. bought a new position in shares of Fiserv in the fourth quarter valued at $281,000. Institutional investors own 90.98% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

FI has been the subject of several analyst reports. Stephens raised their target price 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. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on shares of Fiserv from $255.00 to $270.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Citigroup upped their target price on shares of Fiserv from $230.00 to $233.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded Fiserv from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on Fiserv from $238.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-one have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Fiserv currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $239.83.

Fiserv Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:FI opened at $218.04 on Friday. 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 1 year low of $145.98 and a 1 year high of $238.59. The stock has a market capitalization of $122.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 0.93. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $218.31 and its 200 day simple moving average is $202.88.

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

Fiserv declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback program on Thursday, February 20th that authorizes the company to buyback 60,000,000 shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the business services provider to repurchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, COO Guy Chiarello sold 45,000 shares of Fiserv stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 227,711 shares in the company, valued at $53,637,326.05. This trade represents a 16.50 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.75% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.