Fiserv, Inc. (NYSE:FI) Shares Sold by D L Carlson Investment Group Inc.

D L Carlson Investment Group Inc. cut its stake in shares of Fiserv, Inc. (NYSE:FI) by 0.5% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 34,968 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 162 shares during the quarter. Fiserv makes up approximately 1.3% of D L Carlson Investment Group Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 18th largest holding. D L Carlson Investment Group Inc.’s holdings in Fiserv were worth $7,183,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Marshall Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Fiserv during the fourth quarter worth approximately $29,000. Valley National Advisers Inc. bought a new position in shares of Fiserv during the fourth quarter valued at $29,000. Compass Financial Services Inc bought a new stake in Fiserv during the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. Campbell Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Fiserv in the fourth quarter valued at about $37,000. Finally, Knuff & Co LLC acquired a new position in Fiserv during the 4th quarter worth $45,000. 90.98% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on FI shares. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on Fiserv from $208.00 to $231.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 3rd. KeyCorp increased their target price on Fiserv from $250.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Oppenheimer increased their target price on shares of Fiserv from $214.00 to $239.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Fiserv from $240.00 to $270.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on shares of Fiserv from $238.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-one have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $242.32.

Fiserv Price Performance

FI opened at $216.15 on Monday. 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 fifty day simple moving average of $222.00 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $208.17. The company has a market cap of $121.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 0.93. Fiserv, Inc. has a 12-month low of $145.98 and a 12-month high of $238.59.

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, beating 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%. Research analysts predict that Fiserv, Inc. will post 10.23 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Fiserv announced that its board has authorized a share buyback program on Thursday, February 20th that allows the company to repurchase 60,000,000 shares. This repurchase authorization allows the business services provider to buy shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Transactions at Fiserv

In other news, COO Guy Chiarello sold 45,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 227,711 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $53,637,326.05. The trade was a 16.50 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 0.75% of the company’s stock.

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.