Essex Financial Services Inc. Makes New Investment in Fiserv, Inc. (NYSE:FI)

Essex Financial Services Inc. purchased a new stake in Fiserv, Inc. (NYSE:FI) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund purchased 1,918 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $255,000.

A number of other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in FI. ICW Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Fiserv during the 4th quarter worth about $1,303,000. Victory Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in Fiserv during the fourth quarter worth approximately $48,585,000. Berry Wealth Group LP purchased a new position in Fiserv during the fourth quarter worth approximately $352,000. Cannell & Co. acquired a new position in shares of Fiserv in the 4th quarter valued at $468,000. Finally, Cary Street Partners Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Fiserv during the 4th quarter valued at $3,113,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.98% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently weighed in on FI. Robert W. Baird increased their target price on Fiserv from $185.00 to $186.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 24th. Barclays boosted their target price on Fiserv from $165.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, April 1st. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of Fiserv from $133.00 to $142.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 7th. KeyCorp boosted their price objective on shares of Fiserv from $160.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. Finally, Evercore ISI reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $185.00 target price on shares of Fiserv in a research note on Tuesday, March 26th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $164.33.

Insider Activity at Fiserv

In other Fiserv news, COO Guy Chiarello sold 63,646 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $154.00, for a total transaction of $9,801,484.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 163,699 shares in the company, valued at $25,209,646. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 111,575 shares of company stock valued at $17,022,387. Corporate insiders own 0.75% of the company’s stock.

Fiserv Price Performance

Shares of FI stock opened at $149.22 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $87.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.89, a P/E/G ratio of 1.20 and a beta of 0.92. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $152.74 and a two-hundred day moving average of $139.04. 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, Inc. has a 1-year low of $109.11 and a 1-year high of $159.99.

Fiserv (NYSE:FI) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 23rd. The business services provider reported $1.88 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.77 by $0.11. Fiserv had a return on equity of 15.73% and a net margin of 16.68%. The firm had revenue of $4.88 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.57 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.58 earnings per share. Fiserv’s quarterly revenue was up 7.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Fiserv, Inc. will post 8.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.