Sabal Trust CO Invests $1.26 Million in Fiserv, Inc. (NYSE:FI)

Sabal Trust CO bought a new position in Fiserv, Inc. (NYSE:FI) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 9,509 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,263,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in FI. AMI Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Fiserv by 33.6% during the first quarter. AMI Investment Management Inc. now owns 27,999 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,839,000 after purchasing an additional 7,047 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Fiserv by 10.4% during the first quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 9,227 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $936,000 after purchasing an additional 870 shares during the period. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund raised its stake in Fiserv by 158.2% in the first quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 963 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $98,000 after buying an additional 590 shares in the last quarter. Prudential PLC purchased a new position in shares of Fiserv during the 1st quarter worth about $1,095,000. Finally, Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Fiserv during the 1st quarter worth about $357,000. 90.98% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on FI shares. Susquehanna increased their target price on shares of Fiserv from $175.00 to $180.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a research report on Monday, March 25th. StockNews.com started coverage on shares of Fiserv in a research report on Saturday, February 3rd. They set a “buy” rating for the company. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on shares of Fiserv from $152.00 to $157.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 8th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on shares of Fiserv from $144.00 to $158.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 7th. Finally, B. Riley raised their price objective on shares of Fiserv from $152.00 to $176.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 7th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $158.21.

Fiserv Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE FI traded up $2.47 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $157.38. 1,691,724 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,404,415. Fiserv, Inc. has a 52 week low of $109.11 and a 52 week high of $159.99. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $150.30 and a 200 day moving average price of $133.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73, a current ratio of 1.04 and a quick ratio of 1.04. The company has a market cap of $92.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.48, a PEG ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 0.91.

Fiserv (NYSE:FI) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 6th. The business services provider reported $2.19 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.15 by $0.04. Fiserv had a net margin of 16.07% and a return on equity of 15.16%. The business had revenue of $4.92 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.68 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.91 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 6.2% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Fiserv, Inc. will post 8.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Fiserv news, COO Guy Chiarello sold 63,646 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $154.00, for a total value of $9,801,484.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 163,699 shares in the company, valued at $25,209,646. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 18.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.