Fiserv (NYSE:FI) Stock Rating Upgraded by Morgan Stanley

Fiserv (NYSE:FI) was upgraded by stock analysts at Morgan Stanley from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Monday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a $175.00 price objective on the business services provider’s stock, up from their previous price objective of $154.00. Morgan Stanley’s target price would suggest a potential upside of 11.32% from the company’s current price.

A number of other analysts have also commented on FI. Susquehanna increased their price objective on Fiserv from $175.00 to $180.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a research note on Monday, March 25th. Evercore ISI reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $185.00 price target on shares of Fiserv in a report on Tuesday, March 26th. TD Cowen boosted their price objective on shares of Fiserv from $167.00 to $175.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 24th. Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of Fiserv from $171.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 24th. Finally, Barclays lifted their price objective on Fiserv from $165.00 to $185.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, April 1st. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-one have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Fiserv presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $166.76.

Fiserv Stock Down 0.9 %

Shares of NYSE FI opened at $157.21 on Monday. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $150.96 and its two-hundred day moving average is $149.54. The company has a market capitalization of $91.98 billion, a PE ratio of 29.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 0.92. Fiserv has a 12-month low of $109.11 and a 12-month high of $159.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 1.06 and a quick ratio of 1.06.

Fiserv (NYSE:FI) last posted 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%. Fiserv’s revenue was up 7.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.58 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Fiserv will post 8.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Fiserv

In related news, COO Guy Chiarello sold 24,000 shares of Fiserv stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $154.86, for a total value of $3,716,640.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 163,699 shares in the company, valued at $25,350,427.14. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Fiserv news, EVP John Gibbons sold 2,800 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, June 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $148.76, for a total value of $416,528.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 28,323 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,213,329.48. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, COO Guy Chiarello sold 24,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $154.86, for a total transaction of $3,716,640.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 163,699 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $25,350,427.14. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 50,800 shares of company stock valued at $7,696,448. Insiders own 0.75% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Fiserv

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its holdings in shares of Fiserv by 0.9% in the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 44,720,962 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $7,147,305,000 after acquiring an additional 417,459 shares in the last quarter. Capital World Investors boosted its stake in Fiserv by 7.4% during the 1st quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 18,840,137 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $3,011,031,000 after purchasing an additional 1,303,078 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA acquired a new position in shares of Fiserv during the 4th quarter valued at $960,592,000. Veritas Asset Management LLP acquired a new position in shares of Fiserv in the fourth quarter worth about $927,298,000. Finally, Parnassus Investments LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Fiserv during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $900,674,000. 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.