Russell Investments Group Ltd. Buys 43,807 Shares of Fiserv, Inc. (NYSE:FI)

Russell Investments Group Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Fiserv, Inc. (NYSE:FI) by 11.2% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 433,440 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 43,807 shares during the quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd.’s holdings in Fiserv were worth $89,081,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. IHT Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Fiserv by 31.7% in the third quarter. IHT Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,056 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $551,000 after purchasing an additional 735 shares during the period. Quantinno Capital Management LP raised its holdings in shares of Fiserv by 19.6% in the 3rd quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 40,972 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $7,361,000 after acquiring an additional 6,722 shares in the last quarter. Stifel Financial Corp raised its holdings in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 26,459 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its position in shares of Fiserv by 80.1% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 50,386 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $9,052,000 after acquiring an additional 22,410 shares during the last quarter. Finally, EP Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Fiserv by 0.8% during the third quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 12,373 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,223,000 after purchasing an additional 97 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.98% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded shares of Fiserv from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $246.00 to $260.00 in a research report on Wednesday. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on shares of Fiserv from $233.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Susquehanna raised their price target on Fiserv from $230.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Barclays upped their price objective on Fiserv from $235.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Seaport Res Ptn raised shares of Fiserv from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-two have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $243.64.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, COO Guy Chiarello sold 45,000 shares of the 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 transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 227,711 shares in the company, valued at $53,637,326.05. This represents a 16.50 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.75% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Fiserv Trading Down 8.4 %

Shares of NYSE FI opened at $198.77 on Friday. 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. 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 firm’s 50 day moving average price is $222.85 and its 200-day moving average price is $209.42. Fiserv, Inc. has a 52-week low of $145.98 and a 52-week high of $238.59.

Fiserv (NYSE:FI) last issued its earnings results 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 return on equity of 17.93% and a net margin of 15.31%. On average, equities research analysts expect that Fiserv, Inc. will post 10.23 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Fiserv declared that its board has authorized a stock 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 purchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are generally a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Fiserv 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.