Welch & Forbes LLC Makes New $121.22 Million Investment in Fiserv, Inc. (NYSE:FI)

Welch & Forbes LLC purchased a new stake in Fiserv, Inc. (NYSE:FI) in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor purchased 912,559 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $121,224,000. Fiserv makes up 1.8% of Welch & Forbes LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 12th largest holding.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in FI. Hollencrest Capital Management boosted its position in shares of Fiserv by 75.8% during the 3rd quarter. Hollencrest Capital Management now owns 232 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the period. West Oak Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Fiserv in the fourth quarter valued at $27,000. Halpern Financial Inc. acquired a new position in Fiserv during the 4th quarter worth about $27,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC purchased a new position in Fiserv during the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Finally, Glass Jacobson Investment Advisors llc acquired a new position in Fiserv in the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.98% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Fiserv

In other Fiserv news, COO Guy Chiarello sold 24,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 directly owns 163,699 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $24,477,911.47. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 111,575 shares of company stock worth $17,022,387. 0.75% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Evercore ISI reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $185.00 price objective on shares of Fiserv in a research note on Tuesday, March 26th. Stephens restated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $165.00 price target on shares of Fiserv in a research note on Wednesday, April 24th. Truist Financial increased their price objective on Fiserv from $140.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 7th. UBS Group boosted their target price on Fiserv from $170.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 24th. Finally, Oppenheimer raised Fiserv from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $168.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 11th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Fiserv has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $164.33.

Fiserv Stock Performance

NYSE:FI traded up $1.37 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $150.59. 2,132,449 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,567,719. Fiserv, Inc. has a 1-year low of $109.11 and a 1-year high of $159.99. 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 $88.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.15, a P/E/G ratio of 1.20 and a beta of 0.92. The company has a 50-day moving average of $152.73 and a 200 day moving average of $139.66.

Fiserv (NYSE:FI) last announced its 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. Fiserv had a net margin of 16.68% and a return on equity of 15.73%. The business had revenue of $4.88 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.57 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.58 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 7.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that Fiserv, Inc. will post 8.69 EPS for the current year.

About Fiserv

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.