Fiserv, Inc. (NYSE:FI) Short Interest Up 12.4% in August

Fiserv, Inc. (NYSE:FI) saw a significant increase in short interest in August. As of August 15th, there was short interest totalling 7,780,000 shares, an increase of 12.4% from the July 31st total of 6,920,000 shares. Approximately 1.4% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 2,450,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 3.2 days.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have commented on the stock. Citigroup raised shares of Fiserv to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on shares of Fiserv from $178.00 to $184.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. Mizuho lifted their target price on Fiserv from $156.00 to $168.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 21st. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on shares of Fiserv from $168.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, July 25th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Fiserv from $176.00 to $199.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 20th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-two have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $174.32.

Fiserv Stock Performance

Shares of Fiserv stock opened at $174.60 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $102.16 billion, a PE ratio of 32.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.31 and a beta of 0.92. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $158.94 and a 200-day simple moving average of $154.07. The company has a quick ratio of 1.06, a current ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85. Fiserv has a 12 month low of $109.11 and a 12 month high of $174.81.

Fiserv (NYSE:FI) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 24th. The business services provider reported $2.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.10 by $0.03. Fiserv had a return on equity of 16.41% and a net margin of 17.45%. The business had revenue of $5.11 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.81 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.81 earnings per share. Fiserv’s quarterly revenue was up 7.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Fiserv will post 8.73 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Fiserv

In other Fiserv news, EVP John Gibbons sold 2,800 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Fiserv news, COO Guy Chiarello sold 24,000 shares of Fiserv stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the chief operating officer now owns 163,699 shares in the company, valued at $25,350,427.14. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP John Gibbons sold 2,800 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 93,690 shares of company stock worth $14,833,215. 0.75% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Fiserv

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of FI. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its stake 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 worth $7,147,305,000 after purchasing an additional 417,459 shares during the period. Capital World Investors lifted its position in shares of Fiserv by 7.4% during the first quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 18,840,137 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $3,011,031,000 after purchasing an additional 1,303,078 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA bought a new stake in shares of Fiserv during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $960,592,000. Veritas Asset Management LLP acquired a new stake in shares of Fiserv in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $927,298,000. Finally, Parnassus Investments LLC bought a new position in Fiserv in the 4th quarter worth approximately $900,674,000. 90.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.