Morgan Stanley Increases Fiserv (NYSE:FI) Price Target to $258.00

Fiserv (NYSE:FI) had its target price upped by Morgan Stanley from $220.00 to $258.00 in a research note published on Wednesday morning,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an overweight rating on the business services provider’s stock.

A number of other analysts have also recently weighed in on the company. TD Cowen boosted their price target on Fiserv from $200.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Oppenheimer began coverage on Fiserv in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. They set an “outperform” rating and a $203.00 price target on the stock. Compass Point initiated coverage on shares of Fiserv in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $278.00 price objective for the company. BTIG Research started coverage on shares of Fiserv in a research note on Wednesday, August 28th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $200.00 target price on the stock. Finally, UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Fiserv from $185.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-two have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $221.38.

Fiserv Stock Up 1.0 %

Shares of NYSE:FI traded up $2.08 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $203.84. 219,672 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,530,676. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $206.77 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $178.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a current ratio of 1.07. Fiserv has a 52-week low of $131.41 and a 52-week high of $223.23. The company has a market capitalization of $115.97 billion, a PE ratio of 39.20, a P/E/G ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 0.93.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CAO Kenneth Best sold 20,821 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $214.61, for a total value of $4,468,394.81. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 38,771 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,320,644.31. The trade was a 34.94 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Frank Bisignano sold 145,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $177.37, for a total transaction of $25,718,650.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2,965,084 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $525,916,949.08. This trade represents a 4.66 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 235,821 shares of company stock valued at $44,299,745. 0.75% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in FI. Family Firm Inc. acquired a new position in Fiserv in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Clean Yield Group lifted its holdings in Fiserv by 431.3% during the 3rd quarter. Clean Yield Group now owns 170 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 138 shares during the period. Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC increased 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 valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 57 shares during the period. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. lifted 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 acquiring an additional 127 shares during the period. Finally, Kennebec Savings Bank bought a new position in Fiserv during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $40,000. Institutional investors own 90.98% of the company’s stock.

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.