Ilmarinen Mutual Pension Insurance Co Buys 25,000 Shares of Fiserv, Inc. (NYSE:FI)

Ilmarinen Mutual Pension Insurance Co boosted its stake in shares of Fiserv, Inc. (NYSE:FI) by 41.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 85,000 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 25,000 shares during the quarter. Ilmarinen Mutual Pension Insurance Co’s holdings in Fiserv were worth $17,461,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Czech National Bank grew its stake in Fiserv by 5.2% in the 4th quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 123,353 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $25,339,000 after buying an additional 6,072 shares during the last quarter. Chiron Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Fiserv in the third quarter worth about $4,709,000. Trust Co. of Vermont lifted its position in shares of Fiserv by 170.4% during the 4th quarter. Trust Co. of Vermont now owns 6,839 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,405,000 after purchasing an additional 4,310 shares during the last quarter. Cardano Risk Management B.V. bought a new stake in Fiserv during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $97,254,000. Finally, M&T Bank Corp grew its holdings in Fiserv by 12.0% in the 3rd quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 140,460 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $25,234,000 after buying an additional 15,103 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.98% of the company’s stock.

Fiserv Stock Down 8.4 %

Shares of NYSE FI opened at $198.77 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 firm has a market capitalization of $111.57 billion, a PE ratio of 36.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 0.91. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $222.85 and its 200-day moving average is $209.18. Fiserv, Inc. has a 1 year low of $145.98 and a 1 year high of $238.59.

Fiserv (NYSE:FI) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The business services provider reported $2.51 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.48 by $0.03. Fiserv had a net margin of 15.31% and a return on equity of 17.93%. Equities analysts expect that Fiserv, Inc. will post 10.23 EPS for the current year.

Fiserv announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback plan on Thursday, February 20th that permits the company to repurchase 60,000,000 shares. This repurchase authorization permits the business services provider to reacquire shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently commented on FI. Citigroup upped 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. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Fiserv from $235.00 to $265.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. KeyCorp boosted their price objective on shares of Fiserv from $250.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. StockNews.com initiated coverage on Fiserv in a report on Sunday, March 23rd. They issued a “buy” rating for the company. Finally, Susquehanna boosted their price objective on Fiserv from $230.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-two have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Fiserv presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $243.64.

Insider Buying and Selling 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 directly owns 227,711 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $53,637,326.05. This represents a 16.50 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.75% of the company’s stock.

Fiserv Company 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.