Smith Moore & CO. Has $1.43 Million Stock Holdings in Fiserv, Inc. (NYSE:FI)

Smith Moore & CO. lifted its position in Fiserv, Inc. (NYSE:FI) by 2.3% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 6,937 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 155 shares during the period. Smith Moore & CO.’s holdings in Fiserv were worth $1,425,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. IHT Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in Fiserv by 31.7% during the 3rd quarter. IHT Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,056 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $551,000 after purchasing an additional 735 shares during the last quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Fiserv by 3.7% during the 3rd quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. now owns 259,264 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $46,577,000 after buying an additional 9,274 shares during the last quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP lifted its stake in shares of Fiserv by 19.6% during the 3rd quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 40,972 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $7,361,000 after buying an additional 6,722 shares during the last quarter. Stifel Financial Corp grew its stake in Fiserv by 10.5% in the 3rd quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 279,469 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $50,207,000 after buying an additional 26,459 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sora Investors LLC acquired a new position in Fiserv in the 3rd quarter valued at about $8,131,000. 90.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Fiserv

In related news, COO Guy Chiarello sold 45,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 20th. The stock was 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 owns 227,711 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $53,637,326.05. This trade represents a 16.50 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.75% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Fiserv Trading Down 8.4 %

Shares of FI stock opened at $198.77 on Friday. Fiserv, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $145.98 and a fifty-two week high of $238.59. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $222.85 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $209.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a current ratio of 1.06. The company has a market cap of $111.57 billion, a PE ratio of 36.88, a P/E/G ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 0.91.

Fiserv (NYSE:FI) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The business services provider reported $2.51 earnings per share 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%. Equities analysts predict that Fiserv, Inc. will post 10.23 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Fiserv announced that its board has authorized a stock buyback program on Thursday, February 20th that permits the company to buyback 60,000,000 outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the business services provider to repurchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

FI has been the subject of several research reports. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective 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. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Fiserv from $258.00 to $267.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. StockNews.com assumed coverage on Fiserv in a report on Sunday, March 23rd. They issued a “buy” rating on the stock. Stephens lifted their target price on Fiserv from $255.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of Fiserv from $230.00 to $233.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-two have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $243.64.

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.