JARISLOWSKY FRASER Ltd Has $279.14 Million Holdings in Fiserv, Inc. (NYSE:FI)

JARISLOWSKY FRASER Ltd lowered its position in shares of Fiserv, Inc. (NYSE:FI) by 13.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,358,882 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 207,747 shares during the quarter. Fiserv accounts for 1.6% of JARISLOWSKY FRASER Ltd’s holdings, making the stock its 22nd biggest position. JARISLOWSKY FRASER Ltd owned approximately 0.24% of Fiserv worth $279,142,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in FI. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Fiserv by 1.9% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 11,891,207 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,435,280,000 after acquiring an additional 218,833 shares during the period. FMR LLC increased its stake in Fiserv by 22.5% in the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 11,568,895 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $2,376,482,000 after purchasing an additional 2,126,419 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its position in shares of Fiserv by 16.2% during the 4th quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 8,030,889 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,649,705,000 after purchasing an additional 1,121,597 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Fiserv during the 4th quarter valued at $1,406,452,000. Finally, Northern Trust Corp grew its holdings in shares of Fiserv by 19.5% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 6,206,720 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,274,984,000 after acquiring an additional 1,014,126 shares in the last quarter. 90.98% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Fiserv Stock Performance

NYSE FI opened at $184.09 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.07, a current ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86. The stock has a market cap of $102.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.15, a PEG ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 0.97. Fiserv, Inc. has a twelve month low of $146.25 and a twelve month high of $238.59. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $206.23 and its 200 day simple moving average is $211.10.

Fiserv (NYSE:FI) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 24th. The business services provider reported $2.14 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 net margin of 15.31% and a return on equity of 17.93%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 5.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.88 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Fiserv, Inc. will post 10.23 earnings per share 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 shares. This buyback authorization permits the business services provider to purchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are generally an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity at Fiserv

In related news, COO Guy Chiarello sold 45,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 directly 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 is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.74% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Stephens raised their target price on shares of Fiserv from $255.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Morgan Stanley restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $268.00 price objective (up from $267.00) on shares of Fiserv in a report on Friday, April 25th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their target price on Fiserv from $260.00 to $240.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Royal Bank of Canada set a $237.00 target price on Fiserv in a report on Friday, April 25th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased 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. Two 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 issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Fiserv presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $230.00.

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.