Ramsay Stattman Vela & Price Inc. Invests $11.19 Million in Fiserv, Inc. (NYSE:FI)

Ramsay Stattman Vela & Price Inc. acquired a new position in Fiserv, Inc. (NYSE:FI) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 84,228 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $11,189,000. Fiserv comprises 2.3% of Ramsay Stattman Vela & Price Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 16th biggest holding.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in FI. Comerica Bank acquired a new stake in Fiserv during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $200,000. West Oak Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Fiserv during the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Halpern Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in Fiserv during the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Fiserv in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Finally, PCA Investment Advisory Services Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Fiserv in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $27,000. 90.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In related news, COO Guy Chiarello sold 24,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $149.53, for a total transaction of $3,588,720.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 163,699 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $24,477,911.47. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders have sold a total of 111,575 shares of company stock valued at $17,022,387 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.75% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have commented on FI. BNP Paribas raised shares of Fiserv from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 10th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on shares of Fiserv from $152.00 to $157.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 8th. Oppenheimer raised shares of Fiserv from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $168.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 11th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on shares of Fiserv from $144.00 to $158.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 7th. Finally, Stephens increased their target price on shares of Fiserv from $140.00 to $150.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 7th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $158.21.

Fiserv Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:FI traded up $1.71 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $148.62. The stock had a trading volume of 2,515,820 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,178,098. The company has a market capitalization of $87.50 billion, a PE ratio of 29.72, a P/E/G ratio of 1.21 and a beta of 0.91. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $151.81 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $136.53. The company has a current ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73. Fiserv, Inc. has a 1 year low of $109.11 and a 1 year high of $159.99.

Fiserv (NYSE:FI) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 6th. The business services provider reported $2.19 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.15 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $4.92 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.68 billion. Fiserv had a net margin of 16.07% and a return on equity of 15.16%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 6.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.91 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that Fiserv, Inc. will post 8.63 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.