Allianz SE Acquires Shares of 11,944 Fiserv, Inc. (NYSE:FI)

Allianz SE bought a new position in Fiserv, Inc. (NYSE:FI) in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund bought 11,944 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $2,464,000.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of FI. Valley National Advisers Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Fiserv during the fourth quarter worth $29,000. Marshall Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Fiserv during the 4th quarter worth about $29,000. Compass Financial Services Inc acquired a new stake in shares of Fiserv during the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. Campbell Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Fiserv in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Finally, Knuff & Co LLC acquired a new position in Fiserv in the fourth quarter worth approximately $45,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.98% of the company’s stock.

Fiserv Trading Down 1.4 %

Shares of FI opened at $216.15 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.06, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86. The stock has a market cap of $121.32 billion, a PE ratio of 40.10, a PEG ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 0.93. Fiserv, Inc. has a 1 year low of $145.98 and a 1 year high of $238.59. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $222.00 and a 200-day simple moving average of $207.91.

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

Fiserv declared that its board has approved a share repurchase program on Thursday, February 20th that allows the company to repurchase 60,000,000 outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the business services provider to buy shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are usually an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have commented on FI. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Fiserv from $240.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. StockNews.com assumed coverage on shares of Fiserv in a research report on Sunday, March 23rd. They set a “buy” rating on the stock. KeyCorp upped their price target on Fiserv from $250.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Stephens raised their price objective on Fiserv from $255.00 to $270.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on Fiserv from $208.00 to $231.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-one have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $242.32.

Insider Activity at Fiserv

In other 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 value of $10,599,750.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 227,711 shares in the company, valued at approximately $53,637,326.05. The trade was a 16.50 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 0.75% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.