Fiserv (NYSE:FI) Shares Gap Up Following Better-Than-Expected Earnings

Shares of Fiserv, Inc. (NYSE:FI) gapped up prior to trading on Tuesday following a better than expected earnings announcement. The stock had previously closed at $148.80, but opened at $159.23. Fiserv shares last traded at $155.65, with a volume of 946,611 shares trading hands.

The business services provider reported $1.88 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.79 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $4.88 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.57 billion. Fiserv had a net margin of 16.07% and a return on equity of 15.16%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.58 EPS.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

FI has been the subject of several research reports. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on shares of Fiserv from $152.00 to $157.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 8th. Oppenheimer upgraded shares of Fiserv from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $168.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 11th. BNP Paribas upgraded shares of Fiserv from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 10th. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on shares of Fiserv from $168.00 to $185.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, April 1st. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on shares of Fiserv from $144.00 to $158.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 7th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Fiserv currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $157.79.

Insider Buying and Selling at Fiserv

In other Fiserv news, COO Guy Chiarello sold 24,000 shares of Fiserv stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $149.53, for a total value of $3,588,720.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 163,699 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $24,477,911.47. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 111,575 shares of company stock valued at $17,022,387. 0.75% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of FI. Piscataqua Savings Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Fiserv in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $67,000. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Fiserv in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $78,000. Liberty Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Fiserv in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $7,071,000. Birch Hill Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Fiserv in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $84,583,000. Finally, Graypoint LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Fiserv in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $3,732,000. Institutional investors own 90.98% of the company’s stock.

Fiserv Stock Up 4.2 %

The company has a quick ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73. The company has a market capitalization of $91.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.76, a P/E/G ratio of 1.21 and a beta of 0.91. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $151.90 and its 200-day moving average price is $136.94.

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.