National Bank of Canada FI Grows Position in Fiserv, Inc. (NYSE:FI)

National Bank of Canada FI lifted its stake in shares of Fiserv, Inc. (NYSE:FI) by 1,995.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 534,892 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 509,363 shares during the quarter. National Bank of Canada FI’s holdings in Fiserv were worth $109,985,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in FI. Jacobi Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Fiserv by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Jacobi Capital Management LLC now owns 11,104 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,281,000 after buying an additional 44 shares in the last quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust boosted its stake in shares of Fiserv by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 4,109 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $841,000 after acquiring an additional 45 shares in the last quarter. Catalina Capital Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Fiserv by 2.3% during the 4th quarter. Catalina Capital Group LLC now owns 2,160 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $444,000 after acquiring an additional 48 shares in the last quarter. Mount Yale Investment Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Fiserv by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. Mount Yale Investment Advisors LLC now owns 4,126 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $848,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares during the period. Finally, Hemington Wealth Management increased its stake in Fiserv by 6.1% in the 4th quarter. Hemington Wealth Management now owns 864 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $177,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.98% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Fiserv

In other news, COO Guy Chiarello sold 45,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 owns 227,711 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $53,637,326.05. This represents a 16.50 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.75% of the company’s stock.

Fiserv Price Performance

FI stock opened at $221.98 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $222.51 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $208.84. The company has a market cap of $124.59 billion, a PE ratio of 41.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 0.93. The company has a current ratio of 1.06, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86. Fiserv, Inc. has a 12-month low of $145.98 and a 12-month high of $238.59.

Fiserv (NYSE:FI) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The business services provider reported $2.51 earnings per share (EPS) 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 initiated a share repurchase plan on Thursday, February 20th that permits the company to buyback 60,000,000 outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the business services provider to reacquire shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are typically a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have weighed in on FI. Barclays upped their target price on Fiserv from $235.00 to $265.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. Oppenheimer increased their price objective on shares of Fiserv from $214.00 to $239.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded shares of Fiserv from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Fiserv from $258.00 to $267.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Citigroup lifted their price objective on Fiserv from $230.00 to $233.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Two 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 company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $242.32.

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.