Los Angeles Capital Management LLC Purchases 127,089 Shares of Fiserv, Inc. (NYSE:FI)

Los Angeles Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Fiserv, Inc. (NYSE:FI) by 154.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 209,555 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 127,089 shares during the quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Fiserv were worth $43,047,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Catalina Capital Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Fiserv by 2.3% in the 4th quarter. Catalina Capital Group LLC now owns 2,160 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $444,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares during the period. Mount Yale Investment Advisors LLC raised its stake in Fiserv by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Mount Yale Investment Advisors LLC now owns 4,126 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $848,000 after buying an additional 50 shares during the period. Hemington Wealth Management raised its stake in Fiserv by 6.1% in the fourth quarter. Hemington Wealth Management now owns 864 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $177,000 after buying an additional 50 shares during the period. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Fiserv by 3.0% in the fourth quarter. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC now owns 1,752 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $360,000 after buying an additional 51 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Optas LLC boosted its stake in shares of Fiserv by 1.7% during the 3rd quarter. Optas LLC now owns 3,216 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $578,000 after acquiring an additional 54 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.98% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Fiserv

In related news, COO Guy Chiarello sold 45,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 227,711 shares in the company, valued at $53,637,326.05. This represents a 16.50 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.75% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently weighed in on FI. Citigroup increased their price target on Fiserv from $230.00 to $233.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Susquehanna increased their price objective on shares of Fiserv from $230.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Fiserv from $258.00 to $267.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. 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. Finally, Oppenheimer boosted their price objective on Fiserv from $214.00 to $239.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-one have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Fiserv has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $239.83.

Fiserv Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:FI opened at $232.34 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $214.94 and a 200-day moving average of $199.86. Fiserv, Inc. has a 12 month low of $145.98 and a 12 month high of $237.99. 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 market capitalization of $130.41 billion, a PE ratio of 43.11, a PEG ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 0.94.

Fiserv (NYSE:FI) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The business services provider reported $2.51 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.48 by $0.03. Fiserv had a net margin of 15.31% and a return on equity of 17.93%. On average, equities research analysts predict that Fiserv, Inc. will post 10.23 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Fiserv declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase program on Thursday, February 20th that authorizes the company to buyback 60,000,000 shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the business services provider to purchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

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.