Ariel Investments LLC Has $31.51 Million Stock Holdings in Fiserv, Inc. $FISV

Ariel Investments LLC boosted its stake in Fiserv, Inc. (NASDAQ:FISV) by 3,784.1% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 182,786 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 178,080 shares during the quarter. Ariel Investments LLC’s holdings in Fiserv were worth $31,514,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of FISV. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Fiserv during the second quarter valued at $1,252,260,000. Alliancebernstein L.P. increased its position in Fiserv by 5.3% in the 1st quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 5,724,666 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,264,178,000 after purchasing an additional 287,420 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Fiserv by 4.2% during the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 4,778,795 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,055,301,000 after buying an additional 190,527 shares during the last quarter. Amundi lifted its holdings in shares of Fiserv by 27.2% during the 2nd quarter. Amundi now owns 3,781,665 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $652,148,000 after buying an additional 807,916 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc lifted its holdings in shares of Fiserv by 1.1% during the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 3,506,096 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $604,486,000 after buying an additional 39,036 shares during the last quarter. 90.98% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently weighed in on FISV. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price objective on shares of Fiserv from $170.00 to $92.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. UBS Group set a $75.00 price target on shares of Fiserv and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut shares of Fiserv from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $149.00 to $79.00 in a report on Thursday, October 30th. B. Riley downgraded shares of Fiserv from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 29th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price target on Fiserv from $70.00 to $60.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, November 24th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twenty-three have given a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Fiserv presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $121.08.

Insider Activity at Fiserv

In other news, Director Lance M. Fritz purchased 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 30th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $65.18 per share, with a total value of $651,800.00. Following the acquisition, the director directly owned 13,086 shares in the company, valued at approximately $852,945.48. The trade was a 324.04% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Paul M. Todd acquired 17,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 1st. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $62.41 per share, for a total transaction of $1,060,970.00. Following the acquisition, the chief financial officer directly owned 24,453 shares in the company, valued at $1,526,111.73. This represents a 228.10% increase in their position. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. Over the last 90 days, insiders purchased 34,900 shares of company stock worth $2,211,971. Company insiders own 0.75% of the company’s stock.

Fiserv Trading Up 0.7%

Shares of Fiserv stock opened at $66.21 on Wednesday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $87.96 and its 200-day simple moving average is $128.04. The company has a market cap of $35.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.23, a PEG ratio of 2.53 and a beta of 0.80. The company has a current ratio of 1.08, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15. Fiserv, Inc. has a 1 year low of $59.56 and a 1 year high of $238.59.

Fiserv (NASDAQ:FISV) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, March 26th. The business services provider reported $1.91 EPS for the quarter. Fiserv had a net margin of 17.05% and a return on equity of 19.47%. The firm had revenue of $4.32 billion during the quarter. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Fiserv, Inc. will post 10.23 EPS for the current 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.