Grove Bank & Trust Boosts Stake in Fiserv, Inc. (NYSE:FI)

Grove Bank & Trust lifted its holdings in Fiserv, Inc. (NYSE:FI) by 226.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 379 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 263 shares during the quarter. Grove Bank & Trust’s holdings in Fiserv were worth $78,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of FI. Clean Yield Group raised its stake in shares of Fiserv by 431.3% in the third quarter. Clean Yield Group now owns 170 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 138 shares during the last quarter. Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Fiserv by 42.5% in the third quarter. Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC now owns 191 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 57 shares during the last quarter. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Fiserv by 95.5% in the second quarter. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 260 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 127 shares during the last quarter. Kennebec Savings Bank purchased a new position in shares of Fiserv in the third quarter worth $40,000. Finally, Northwest Investment Counselors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Fiserv in the third quarter worth $44,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.98% of the company’s stock.

Fiserv Price Performance

Shares of Fiserv stock opened at $208.67 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $209.45 and a 200 day moving average of $187.30. Fiserv, Inc. has a 12 month low of $136.93 and a 12 month high of $223.23. The firm has a market cap of $118.71 billion, a PE ratio of 40.13, a PEG ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a current ratio of 1.07, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85.

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

Insider Activity

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 stock was sold at an average price of $201.97, for a total value of $8,078,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Heidi Miller sold 30,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $201.13, for a total value of $6,033,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 33,235 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,684,555.55. The trade was a 47.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 90,821 shares of company stock valued at $18,581,095 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.75% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

FI has been the subject of a number of research reports. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on Fiserv from $222.00 to $232.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, November 18th. KeyCorp upped their price objective on Fiserv from $180.00 to $225.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on Fiserv from $183.00 to $224.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Fiserv from $220.00 to $240.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, Citigroup upped their price objective on Fiserv from $230.00 to $233.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-two have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $224.00.

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.