Polar Asset Management Partners Inc. Invests $26.71 Million in Fiserv, Inc. (NYSE:FI)

Polar Asset Management Partners Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Fiserv, Inc. (NYSE:FI) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 130,000 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $26,705,000.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Jacobi Capital Management LLC grew its position in Fiserv by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Jacobi Capital Management LLC now owns 11,104 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,281,000 after acquiring an additional 44 shares during the period. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Fiserv by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,862 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $794,000 after purchasing an additional 44 shares during the last quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust grew its holdings in shares of Fiserv by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 4,109 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $841,000 after purchasing an additional 45 shares during the period. Catalina Capital Group LLC increased its position in shares of Fiserv by 2.3% during the 4th quarter. Catalina Capital Group LLC now owns 2,160 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $444,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mount Yale Investment Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Fiserv by 1.2% in the 4th 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. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.98% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

FI has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their target price on shares of Fiserv from $260.00 to $240.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Fiserv from $240.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Stephens boosted their target price on Fiserv from $255.00 to $270.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. StockNews.com assumed coverage on Fiserv in a research note on Sunday, March 23rd. They set a “buy” rating on the stock. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada set a $237.00 price objective on Fiserv in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating, twenty-two have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $230.00.

Fiserv Stock Down 0.6%

Shares of NYSE FI opened at $189.76 on Thursday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $204.31 and a two-hundred day moving average of $210.78. The company has a market capitalization of $105.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 0.97. Fiserv, Inc. has a 1 year low of $146.25 and a 1 year high of $238.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 1.06 and a quick ratio of 1.07.

Fiserv (NYSE:FI) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The business services provider reported $2.14 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.08 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $4.79 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.86 billion. Fiserv had a return on equity of 17.93% and a net margin of 15.31%. The firm’s revenue was up 5.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.88 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that Fiserv, Inc. will post 10.23 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Fiserv announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback program on Thursday, February 20th that allows the company to buyback 60,000,000 shares. This buyback authorization allows the business services provider to reacquire shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Fiserv news, COO Guy Chiarello sold 45,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 owns 227,711 shares in the company, valued at approximately $53,637,326.05. The trade was a 16.50% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.74% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.