Provident Trust Co. Takes Position in Fiserv, Inc. (NYSE:FI)

Provident Trust Co. acquired a new stake in Fiserv, Inc. (NYSE:FI) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 1,039,663 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $138,109,000. Fiserv accounts for about 2.8% of Provident Trust Co.’s holdings, making the stock its 14th biggest position. Provident Trust Co. owned about 0.17% of Fiserv at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Meritage Portfolio Management purchased a new stake in shares of Fiserv during the fourth quarter valued at $995,000. Piscataqua Savings Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Fiserv during the fourth quarter valued at $67,000. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Fiserv during the fourth quarter valued at $78,000. Liberty Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Fiserv during the fourth quarter valued at $7,071,000. Finally, Birch Hill Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Fiserv during the fourth quarter valued at $84,583,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.98% of the company’s stock.

Fiserv Stock Performance

NYSE:FI traded up $2.60 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $155.89. 3,196,489 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,315,910. The firm has a market capitalization of $91.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 0.91. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $152.54 and a two-hundred day moving average of $137.74. The company has a current ratio of 1.06, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81. Fiserv, Inc. has a 12 month low of $109.11 and a 12 month high of $159.99.

Fiserv (NYSE:FI) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 23rd. The business services provider reported $1.88 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.77 by $0.11. The firm had revenue of $4.88 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.57 billion. Fiserv had a return on equity of 15.73% and a net margin of 16.68%. The company’s revenue was up 7.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.58 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Fiserv, Inc. will post 8.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

FI has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Evercore ISI reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $185.00 price target on shares of Fiserv in a research report on Tuesday, March 26th. Barclays upped their price target on Fiserv from $165.00 to $185.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, April 1st. TD Cowen upped their price target on Fiserv from $167.00 to $175.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on Fiserv from $185.00 to $186.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Fiserv from $133.00 to $142.00 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 nineteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Fiserv currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $164.33.

Insider Transactions at Fiserv

In other news, COO Guy Chiarello sold 23,929 shares of Fiserv stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $151.79, for a total transaction of $3,632,182.91. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 163,699 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $24,847,871.21. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 111,575 shares of company stock valued at $17,022,387. 0.75% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.