Short Interest in Fiserv, Inc. (NYSE:FI) Decreases By 6.1%

Fiserv, Inc. (NYSE:FI) was the recipient of a large decline in short interest during the month of April. As of April 15th, there was short interest totalling 7,250,000 shares, a decline of 6.1% from the March 31st total of 7,720,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 2,530,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.9 days. Currently, 1.2% of the company’s stock are short sold.

Fiserv Trading Down 2.5 %

Shares of FI stock opened at $148.86 on Thursday. Fiserv has a twelve month low of $109.11 and a twelve month high of $159.99. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $152.79 and its 200 day simple moving average is $138.72. The company has a quick ratio of 1.06, a current ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81. The firm has a market capitalization of $87.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.82, a P/E/G ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 0.91.

Fiserv (NYSE:FI) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 23rd. The business services provider reported $1.88 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.77 by $0.11. The company had revenue of $4.88 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.57 billion. Fiserv had a return on equity of 15.73% and a net margin of 16.68%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 7.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.58 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Fiserv will post 8.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on FI shares. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on shares of Fiserv from $163.00 to $168.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 24th. BNP Paribas upgraded Fiserv from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 10th. Oppenheimer raised Fiserv from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $168.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 11th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Fiserv from $133.00 to $142.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 7th. Finally, Evercore ISI reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $185.00 price objective on shares of Fiserv in a research report on Tuesday, March 26th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $164.33.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, COO Guy Chiarello sold 23,929 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $151.79, for a total transaction of $3,632,182.91. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 163,699 shares in the company, valued at approximately $24,847,871.21. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders have sold 111,575 shares of company stock valued at $17,022,387 in the last 90 days. 0.75% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Fiserv

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Cooper Financial Group raised its position in Fiserv by 3.1% during the 1st quarter. Cooper Financial Group now owns 2,243 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $358,000 after purchasing an additional 67 shares during the last quarter. BSW Wealth Partners raised its position in shares of Fiserv by 2.8% during the first quarter. BSW Wealth Partners now owns 2,821 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $451,000 after acquiring an additional 76 shares during the last quarter. Wedmont Private Capital lifted its stake in shares of Fiserv by 1.8% in the first quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 4,898 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $761,000 after acquiring an additional 87 shares during the period. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its holdings in Fiserv by 4.0% in the third quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 2,385 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $269,000 after acquiring an additional 92 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Claro Advisors LLC increased its position in Fiserv by 4.6% during the 1st quarter. Claro Advisors LLC now owns 2,076 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $332,000 after purchasing an additional 92 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 90.98% of the company’s stock.

Fiserv Company 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.