Morgan Stanley Boosts Fiserv (NYSE:FI) Price Target to $258.00

Fiserv (NYSE:FI) had its price target hoisted by Morgan Stanley from $220.00 to $258.00 in a research note issued on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an “overweight” rating on the business services provider’s stock. Morgan Stanley’s price objective would suggest a potential upside of 27.56% from the company’s previous close.

A number of other research analysts have also weighed in on FI. Oppenheimer assumed coverage on shares of Fiserv in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $203.00 target price for the company. Mizuho increased their price target on Fiserv from $183.00 to $222.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on shares of Fiserv from $183.00 to $224.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. KeyCorp upped their target price on Fiserv from $180.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on shares of Fiserv from $225.00 to $238.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-two have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Fiserv currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $222.88.

Fiserv Stock Performance

FI opened at $202.26 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $115.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.90, a PEG ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 0.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 1.07 and a quick ratio of 1.07. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $207.06 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $178.47. Fiserv has a 1-year low of $131.41 and a 1-year high of $223.23.

Fiserv (NYSE:FI) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The business services provider reported $2.30 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.26 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $5.22 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.90 billion. Fiserv had a return on equity of 17.10% and a net margin of 15.22%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.96 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Fiserv will post 8.77 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Fiserv

In other news, Director Doyle Simons sold 40,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $201.97, for a total transaction of $8,078,800.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 76,180 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $15,386,074.60. This trade represents a 34.43 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CAO Kenneth Best sold 20,821 shares of Fiserv stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $214.61, for a total transaction of $4,468,394.81. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 38,771 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,320,644.31. The trade was a 34.94 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 90,821 shares of company stock worth $18,581,095 over the last quarter. Insiders own 0.75% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Fiserv

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. 1ST Source Bank lifted its position in shares of Fiserv by 2.3% in the third quarter. 1ST Source Bank now owns 4,760 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $855,000 after acquiring an additional 105 shares in the last quarter. Birmingham Capital Management Co. Inc. AL purchased a new stake in shares of Fiserv in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $218,000. Forthright Family Wealth Advisory LLC acquired a new stake in Fiserv during the third quarter worth $193,000. Oddo BHF Asset Management Sas acquired a new stake in shares of Fiserv during the 3rd quarter worth about $1,559,000. Finally, Synovus Financial Corp raised its stake in shares of Fiserv by 67.4% in the 3rd quarter. Synovus Financial Corp now owns 110,567 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $19,863,000 after acquiring an additional 44,519 shares during the period. 90.98% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.